נמרוד דוד פפר

Nimrod David Pfeffer made his conducting debut with the Mannes Orchestra at Symphony Space in New York City in 2012.

In the 2015-2016 season, Pfeffer’s engagements as conductor include collaborations with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra in the Gala concert of the Musical Olympus Festival at the Mariinsky Concert Hall in St. Petersburg; the inaugural production of the Guatemalan National Opera with Verdi’s Rigoletto, in Guatemala City; and the Juilliard Lab Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall in New York.

Devoted to opera, Pfeffer also serves as Assistant Conductor at The Metropolitan Opera. He made his debut with The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 2014, sharing the podium with James Levine in a Gala performance of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the DiMenna Center in New York.

This season at the Met, he serves as Cover Conductor to James Levine in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Assistant Conductor, banda conductor, and vocal coach in productions of Verdi’s Otello and Wagner’s Tannhäuser. In the 2014-2015 Met season he was Assistant Conductor in productions of Un Ballo in Maschera and La Bohème. Next season at The Met, Pfeffer will serve as Assistant to Chorus Master Donald Palumbo, in addition to his regular work as Assistant Conductor.

In 2014 he was Cover Conductor at the Glimmerglass Festival for their productions of Madama Butterfly and An American Tragedy, and from 2012 to 2014 he was a fellow at The Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

As pianist, Pfeffer performs regularly as soloist with orchestra, recitalist, chamber musician, and vocal accompanist. Pfeffer’s career highlights include a live solo recital broadcast from the Russian Kremlin in 2007, performances of the music of Chopin on the stage of The Metropolitan Opera in American Ballet Theatre's production of Lady of the Camellias in 2010, his debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill recital Hall in 2008, and his solo debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008, playing the World Premiere of Aharon Harlap's Second Piano Concerto, which resulted in a dedication to him of Mr. Harlap’s Symphonic Dances for Piano and Orchestra in 2015.

He has performed in 2015-2016 with the Met Chamber Ensemble, conducted by James Levine, at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall and Weill Recital Hall, and played Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto on a replica of a fortepiano from the period with the Clarion Orchestra, conducted by Steven Fox.

He has also performed recently as soloist at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Warsaw's Philharmonic Hall and Royal Lazienky Park, Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, and Shanghai Concert Hall, as well as in concert halls in Israel, Russia, Poland, Austria, Malta, Jordan, China, Hong Kong, and the United States.

Pfeffer is dedicated to promoting dialogue between Arabs and Jews in his native Israel. In 2009 he presented a concert in honor of peace at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall with Arab-Israeli pianist Bishara Haroni, benefiting the Jezreel Valley Music Center, a music school where Arabs and Jews study music together, which was in financial difficulties. The performance helped to raise funds and bring media attention to the school. Pfeffer is honored to have received the Davis Projects for Peace Award for this initiative.

Pfeffer has recently completed his Master's Degree in Orchestral Conducting as a student of Alan Gilbert at The Juilliard School, as a recipient of the Bruno Walter Scholarship. Upon graduation from Juilliard he was awarded the Charles Schiff Conducting Prize and the Norman Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant. He is a recipient of the Bagby Foundation Study Grant, and holds a Master’s Degree and Professional Studies Diplomas in Piano Performance and in Orchestral Conducting from Mannes College of Music. Among his teachers were Pnina Salzman, Victor Rosenbaum, David Hayes, Carl Schachter, and Richard Goode.