Biography

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

Rach made a debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 2025, and in 2026 served as assistant conductor to Vasily Petrenko for performances of Holst’s The Planets with the orchestra, before being selected to conduct during its United States tour that August. Other recent highlights include Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 13 with Elena Bashkirova, a debut with the Tîrgu Mureș State Philharmonic alongside pianist Daniel Ciobanu, and the world premiere of the opera Kind of a Monster by Ady Cohen and Shira Patshornik. Rach also served as conductor and jury member for the finals of the Stretto International Piano Competition.

In Israel, Rach has conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Ra’anana Symphonette, Be’er Sheva Sinfonietta, Israel Chamber Orchestra and the 21st Century Ensemble. Internationally, engagements include the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Pannon Philharmonic, Bucharest Symphony Orchestra, Tîrgu Mureș State Philharmonic, Athens Philharmonia Orchestra, Haydn Symphony Orchestra Vienna, Orquestra de Câmara de Cascais e Oeiras, and the orchestras of the Myrtus and Lunigiana International festivals.

Prizes

Rach won First Prize at the 2024 OCCO Academy & Competition in Portugal, a Special Prize at the Ionel Perlea International Conducting Competition, awarded by the Oleg Danovski National Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Romania, and Third Prize at the 2023 BMI International Conducting Competition in Bucharest. In 2021 Rach took First Prize and the Orchestra Prize at the Wiener Schule International Conducting Competition in Vienna, First Prize at the Haifa Symphony Orchestra Young Conductors Competition, and won the Israel Chamber Orchestra’s assistant conductor position.

Programming & creative projects

As Music Director of the Israel Chamber Orchestra’s Fantasy Concert Series, Rach leads artistic planning and programming, creating multidisciplinary concerts designed to engage new audiences. Projects include a Casino Concert in which the audience chooses the music alongside games and trivia; Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and the Mozart story Toy Night, both with the Malenky Theater; a chamber version of Holst’s The Planets accompanied by a film written by Rach; and Rach’s own arrangements, including a tribute to Chava Alberstein for piano quintet and Israeli military ensemble songs for chamber orchestra. Since 2026 Rach has also served on the Quality Committee of the Israeli Ministry of Culture’s “Cultural Curation” programme.

Education & mentors

Rach earned a Bachelor of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the Buchmann–Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University, studying with Prof. Yi An Xu. Masterclasses and academies include work with Lahav Shani, Nicolás Pasquet, György G. Ráth, Helmuth Reichel Silva, Michalis Economou, Nikolay Lalov, Ricardo Averbach and Jin Wang. Rach has assisted conductors including Vasily Petrenko, Christoph Poppen, Omer Meir Wellber, Ruben Gazarian, Roberto Forés Veses, Evan Alexis Christ, Jesko Sirvend, Ariel Zuckermann and Bar Avni.

Rach’s studies were supported by the America–Israel Cultural Foundation, the Colton Scholarship for Emerging Young Talents at Tel Aviv University, and Buchmann–Mehta School of Music excellence scholarships.