Avior Byron ( he, אביאור ביירון) is an
Israeli
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli ...
singer songwriter and
musicologist
Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
.
Biography
Avior Byron was born in
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...
,
[
Raz Israeli]
“Against the wind; meet the first religious protest singer”
nrg Maariv
''Maariv'' () is a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in Israel.
From Sunday to Thursday, it is printed under the ''Ma'ariv Hashavu'a'' () brand, while the weekend edition that is out on Friday is called ''Ma'ariv SofHashavu'a'' (). ...
, July 7, 2015
and grew up in
Yavne
Yavne ( he, יַבְנֶה) or Yavneh is a city in the Central District of Israel. In many English translations of the Bible, it is known as Jabneh . During Greco-Roman times, it was known as Jamnia ( grc, Ἰαμνία ''Iamníā''; la, Iamnia) ...
. From the age of ten he studied classical piano, and from thirteen learnt rock and
jazz guitar
Jazz guitar may refer to either a type of electric guitar or a guitar playing style in jazz, using electric amplification to increase the volume of acoustic guitars.
In the early 1930s, jazz musicians sought to amplify their sound to be hear ...
. At the age of fifteen, he had a band, in which he was the composer, the singer and the guitarist.
[
Ohad Tzoik]
“Doctor of music”
Yavne Net (newspaper) November 14, 2014
[
Amira Morag]
“To Ruth, with love”
Lahiton, May 20, 2015
He started to study at
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
, and he graduated with a B.A. in musicology and orchestration. Avior has a doctorate in music from
Royal Holloway, University of London
Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
.
[
Yitzhak Tessler]
“To sing it in pain: The first religious protest singer”
ynet May 19, 2015
[Biography in violinist.com web site]
His tutor for the doctorate was Prof. John Rink, and the subject of his thesis was "
Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
as a performer:
esthetics
Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed thr ...
in practice".
In 2001 Byron became religious;
from 2011–2016 he studied literature,
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
, philosophy and Hebrew poetry in the friends' program of "Alma – Home for Hebrew Culture". At the conclusion of their studies, the students were asked to prepare works of art, and Byron composed songs, some of which appear in his debut album.
In 2015, he issued a mini-album "Songs for Zipporah", which is composed of five songs; Yuval Messner produced the album.
The subject matter of the songs is the social protest, tolerance, and accepting the other, Israeli and Jewish identity. The texts contain dialogues with Jewish sources.
[
Raz Israeli]
“A woman of valour; religious protest singer supports Women of the Wall”
nrg Maariv
''Maariv'' () is a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in Israel.
From Sunday to Thursday, it is printed under the ''Ma'ariv Hashavu'a'' () brand, while the weekend edition that is out on Friday is called ''Ma'ariv SofHashavu'a'' (). ...
, February 9, 2016
The
melodies
A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
, and style of playing are influenced by classical music, rock,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
,
Folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
and alternative tuning of the guitar.
“Ruth is waiting", is a protest song about the imperviousness of the religious establishment towards those who wish to convert to Judaism
[Interview with Avior Byron]
(interviewer: Idan Kveller), on the program “ Erev Hadash", Israeli Educational Television
The Israeli Educational Television (also known as IETV, he, הטלוויזיה החינוכית הישראלית, ''HaŦelevizia HaKhinuchít HaIsraelit'' or just ''חינוכית'' - ''Hinuchit'') was a state-owned public terrestrial televisio ...
, Shavuot
(''Ḥag HaShavuot'' or ''Shavuos'')
, nickname = English: "Feast of Weeks"
, observedby = Jews and Samaritans
, type = Jewish and Samaritan
, begins = 6th day of Sivan (or the Sunday following the 6th day of Sivan i ...
, May 21, 2015. (from 29.08 min.)
[
Judy Maltz ]
"A Singer With a Blunt Message for Israel: Don’t Mess With Converts"
in Haaretz, July 22, 2015
“Zipporah" is a love song to his wife.
“In the streets of the city" is a song about a woman from
biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
times, who lives on the edge of society, and criticizes the status of women in the past and in the present. "Signs on sand" is a love song to his children, and talks of the heritage that we leave them.
“Ruth is waiting" was the song chosen from the album to be played on the radio. Other songs were also posted on various web sites. The media have called Byron: “The First Religious Protest Singer”.
Since 2014, Byron has been appearing throughout Israel with the songs from the album,
and others that he has written and set to music. In February 2016, he signed a contract with “Banana Disc” for the distribution of “Songs for Zipporah”.
Byron has published articles in musicology journals, including "
Music Theory Online
''Music Theory Online'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed open access academic journal covering music theory and musical analysis, analysis. It was established in 1993 and is published by the Society for Music Theory. The initial issues were designat ...
". He specializes in the following fields: Research into musical performance, theory and analysis, twentieth century music.
Currently Byron is working on a book, on
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
, to be published by
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
.
[Byron course at Alma site]
He has written a number of articles for
Nrg and
Ynet
Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...
.
He worked as a lecturer at
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic i ...
.
In 2013, he taught at "Alma – Home for Hebrew Culture",
and since 2014, he has been lecturing at
Achva Academic College
Achva Academic College is a public academic institution located within the jurisdiction of Beer Tuvia Regional Council.
The college offers academic studies in science, education, social sciences, and the humanities. It is accredited to grant ...
.
He is CEO of "Byron Seminars", a company for translations, and teaching languages, which was founded by his parents in 1987.
Avior Byron lives in
Mazkeret Batya
Mazkeret Batya ( he, מַזְכֶּרֶת בַּתְיָה) (lit. "Batya Memorial") is a local council in central Israel located southeast of Rehovot and from Tel Aviv. Mazkeret Batya spans an area of 7,440 dunams (7 km²). In it had a pop ...
with his wife and their three children.
They belong to the "Keshet" congregation there.
[Avior Byron article in Keshet magazine]
See also
* Judy Maltz , "A Singer With a Blunt Message for Israel: Don’t Mess With Converts", in
Haaretz
''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
, July 22, 2015
* Shay Binyamin Shemesh, "There was darkness, there was Avior", in the newspaper "
Yediot Aharonot
''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...
", Rehovot, issue 1289, Friday Av 1st 5775, July 17, 2015, pp. 54–56.
Sources
External links
Avior Byron’s web site, as a singer and composerAvior Byron’s Official YouTube PageByron’s musicology siteByron album in Ba-nana disc in bandcamp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byron, Avior
1973 births
Living people
21st-century Israeli male singers
Israeli male singer-songwriters
Israeli rock singers
Israeli musicologists
Baalei teshuva
People from Yavne