Renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman won 2016 Genesis Prize

Renowned Israeli-US violinist Itzhak Perlman on 14 December 2015 was announced as the 2016 Genesis Prize Laureate for his accomplishments as a musician, teacher and advocate for people with disabilities.

Perlman will receive the award on 23 June 2016 from Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at a ceremony in Jerusalem.

About Itzhak Perlman

• Perlman was born on 31 August 1945 in Tel Aviv.

• He contracted polio at age four.

• He first became interested in the violin after hearing a classical music performance on the radio.

• He taught himself how to play the instrument using a toy fiddle.

• He studied with Rivka Goldgart at the Shulamit Conservatory and at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, where he gave his first recital at age 10.

• Later, he moved to the United States to study at the Juilliard School with the violin pedagogue Ivan Galamian and his assistant Dorothy DeLay.

• His one of the notable performances was at the state dinner attended by Queen Elizabeth II on 7 May 2007 in the East Room at the White House.

• He has been honoured with 16 GRAMMY Awards and four Emmy Awards. In 2008, he was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in the recording arts.

• In 1986, he received the Medal of Liberty from President Reagan. In 2000, he received the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton. In 2015, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama.

About Genesis Prize

• The Genesis Prize, also known as the Jewish Nobel, was founded in 2012 as a 1 million US dollar award.

• It is given annually to an exceptional human being who has attained outstanding excellence and international renown in his or her chosen field, is a role model in the community and who can inspire the next generation of Jews worldwide.

• The prize was founded by the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel, Genesis Philanthropy Group, and the Jewish Agency for Israel with the objective of inspiring and developing a sense of pride and belonging among young unaffiliated Jews throughout the world.

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