Nitai Rach

Conductor

NitaiRach

Nitai Rach smiling, holding a baton, in a black concert jacket
Photo © Noi Arkobi

Biography

Nitai Rach conducting an orchestra on stage, baton outstretched

Israeli conductor Nitai Rach is Conductor in Residence of the Israel Chamber Orchestra and Music Director of its Fantasy Concert Series — and a semi-finalist at the 2026 Solti International Conducting Competition in Hungary.

Rach has won first prizes at the OCCO Academy & Competition in Portugal and at the Wiener Schule International Conducting Competition in Vienna, where the Orchestra Prize was also awarded.

Following a 2025 debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Rach assisted Vasily Petrenko on Holst’s The Planets and was selected to conduct during the orchestra’s 2026 United States tour.

Other engagements include the Jerusalem and Haifa Symphony Orchestras, the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Pannon Philharmonic, Bucharest Symphony Orchestra and Tîrgu Mureș State Philharmonic, with soloists such as Elena Bashkirova and Daniel Ciobanu.

Known for imaginative, multidisciplinary concerts that bring new audiences into the hall, Rach is a graduate of the Buchmann–Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University, where the principal teacher was Prof. Yi An Xu.

Nitai Rach captivated the audience and received thunderous applause for his energetic, youthful, smiling, and vibrant conducting.

Varda Shafin Gross, B’Kivun HaRuach
Full biography

Concerts

November2026

  1. Sat

    21st Century Ensemble — Israel Music Festival

    Yair Klartag · Talia Amar · Menachem Zur · Shai Cohen · with live electronics by Omer Hershman and video by Chen Lev-Ari

    8:30 pm
    Recanati Hall, Tel Aviv Museum of Art
    Details

December2026

  1. Wed

    Israel Chamber Orchestra — Tzlilim BaMidbar Festival

    Israeli orchestral music, Parts I & II · Drora Bruck, recorders · Benjamin Goodman, piano

    11:00 am & 12:15 pm
    Festival Hall, Kibbutz Sde Boker
    Details

  2. Fri

    Israel Chamber Orchestra — Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker

    Fantasy family series · arr. Ronald Kornfeil for chamber orchestra

    10:30 am & 12:00 pm
    Tel Aviv-Yafo Music Center
    Details

  3. Sat

    Israel Chamber Orchestra — A Fairy-Tale Fantasy

    Fantasy family series

    Tel Aviv Museum of Art
    also 2 Jan · Rappaport Auditorium, Haifa
    Details

February2027

  1. Wed

    Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

    J. Strauss II – Thunder and Lightning Polka · Boskovich – “Vetaher Libenu” from The Golden Chain · Lavry – Hora from Emek · Mendelssohn – Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream · Mendelssohn – Violin Concerto, III · Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 27, III · Stravinsky – Infernal Dance of King Kashchei from The Firebird · Saint-Saëns – Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah

    Charles Bronfman Auditorium (Heichal HaTarbut), Tel Aviv
    Marta Yehudin, violin

  2. Fri

    Haifa Symphony Orchestra — Weber, Vivaldi & Mendelssohn

    Weber – Der Freischütz Overture · Vivaldi – Concerto for Two Oboes in D minor · Mendelssohn – Concert Piece for Two Clarinets · Mendelssohn – Symphony No. 5 “Reformation” · Alexei Fedorov & Jacob Martin, oboes · Jeffrey Howard & Ruth Schulz, clarinets

    11:00 am
    Haifa Auditorium
    Details

  3. Sat

    Israel Chamber Orchestra — Peer Gynt

    Grieg · Fantasy family series, with the Malenky Theatre

    Tel Aviv Museum of Art
    also 6 Mar · Haifa · 20 Mar · Cinema City Glilot
    Details

March2027

  1. Thu

    Tîrgu Mureș State Philharmonic — Saint-Saëns & Berlioz

    Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 2 · Berlioz – Symphonie fantastique

    Târgu Mureș, Romania

  2. Sat

    Israel Chamber Orchestra — Rach Meets Bach

    Bach · Fantasy family series

    Tel Aviv Museum of Art
    also 3 Apr · Haifa · 1 May · Cinema City Glilot
    Details

April2027

  1. Wed

    Israel Philharmonic Orchestra — A Concert All About the Flute

    Bach, Mozart, Grieg, Bizet and more · with the IPO flutists and young players

    5:30 pm
    Charles Bronfman Auditorium, Tel Aviv
    Details

June2027

  1. Sat

    Israel Chamber Orchestra — The Carnival of London

    Fantasy family series

    Tel Aviv Museum of Art
    also 12 Jun · Haifa · 3 Jul · Cinema City Glilot
    Details

July2027

  1. Sat

    Israel Philharmonic Orchestra — Peter and the Wolf

    Prokofiev – Peter and the Wolf, with music by Saint-Saëns, Stravinsky, Grieg and Yoni Rechter · Gavriel Hadar, narrator

    10:30 am & 12:15 pm · Tel Aviv
    also 19 Jul, 5:30 pm · Jerusalem
    Details

Watch & Listen

YouTube channel

Beethoven – Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36

Nitai Rach, conductor

Photos

Select a photo to enlarge

Nitai Rach conducting at the Liszt Academy, Budapest, during the Solti International Conducting Competition Nitai Rach conducting, lit warmly against a dark background A full concert hall seen from the balcony during a performance Nitai Rach conducting in rehearsal Black-and-white photo of Nitai Rach conducting with baton raised An orchestra performing under blue stage lights in a large venue Nitai Rach taking a bow with a soloist after a concert Nitai Rach conducting an orchestra on stage A full symphony orchestra on stage Nitai Rach conducting orchestra and singer under blue stage lights Concert with orchestra and guitarist under red stage lights

News

  1. Semi-finalist at the Solti International Conducting Competition

    Nitai Rach reached the semi-final of the 2026 Solti International Conducting Competition in Pécs and Budapest, conducting at the Liszt Academy.

  2. On tour with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

    Selected to conduct during the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s United States tour, after assisting Vasily Petrenko on Holst’s The Planets.

  3. Appointed to the Ministry of Culture’s “Cultural Curation” committee

    Rach joins the Quality Committee of the Israeli Ministry of Culture’s “Cultural Curation” programme.

Contact

Engagements & enquiries

nitairach@gmail.com

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