Michael Wolpe mwpe@sde-boker.org.il

Michael Wolpe was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1960. He started his education studying agriculture and then served in the Israeli army, fighting in Lebanon. He received his musical education at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and at Cambridge University. Around 1985 he moved to the Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev desert, where he still lives, the desert being one of his most important sources of inspiration.
Wolpe's music is also influenced by Renaissance music, Jewish songs and Israeli folk music and he uses religious themes as well as current events.
Michael Wolpe is a founder and musical director of the festival "Music in the Desert", where Israeli composers can present their new compositions.
He is a dedicated teacher of music (Academy of Music and Dance, Jerusalem, Jerusalem Music Centre).