Boaz Galili

Boaz Galili was born in 1981 in a small town in the Galilee, Northern Israel. As a child, he was exposed to music at an early age through his father's guitar playing and local music evenings that were an important part of his community's life. As an adult, he chose to focus on performing traditional music, from which he draws his inspiration, evident in his original compositions.

In Israel he studied with musician and composer Piris Elyahu — the Radif, a collection of old melodic figures preserved by oral tradition. He later travelled many times to Turkey and Greece to study the traditional music of these regions, and participated in masterclasses with teachers including Derya Turkan, Stelios Petrakis, Sokratis Sinopoulos, Ross Daly, and Mark Elyahu. He completed three years in the Root Music Program at the Hed College of Music.

Boaz sings and plays instruments including lyra, kamanche, guitar, and Persian tar, using a loop station and effects in solo concerts. Since 2010 he has performed in major festivals including the International Oud Festival in Jerusalem, the Klezmer Festival in Safed, the Acre International Fringe Theatre Festival, Sounds of the Old City in Jerusalem, and the Sufi Festival. In 2018 he represented Israel at the International Convention in Astana, Kazakhstan for bowed string folk instruments.

Since 2017 he has led his own ensemble and several musical projects: "Nevia" — original instrumental music weaving Persian, Turkish, Greek, Balkan, Jewish, and Western influences — and "Neharot" — original songs composed for texts from Psalms and the Song of Songs. His workshops integrate live music, sound meditation, and meditative singing.