b'ELLA MILCH-SHERIFF Ella Milch-Sheriff is one of Israels most prolific composers. Her musical style blends contemporary Western music with Jewish, Israeli, and Middle Eastern motifs. Born in Haifa, she first started writing music at the early age of 12. Since then, and during her military service, she composed, performed, and interpreted her own songs, after which she returned to classical music, studying composition with Professor Tzvi Avni, with further studies at the Rubin Academy of music in Tel Aviv. Her vast list of compositions includes orchestral compositions, operas, chamber music, choral pieces, and works for solo instruments and voice. In 2005, Ella was awarded the prestigious Israel Prime Minister Prize. Her first opera, And the Rat Laughed (2005), received the Tel Aviv Rosenblum PrizePHOTO CREDIT: DANIEL SHERIFFfor an outstanding achievement, receiving productions throughout Europe and Toronto, Canada. Ella has continued to create many compositions with performances across Europe, Israel, and in the U.S. Between her works are the opera Baruchs Schweigen (Baruchs Silence), based on the true story of her family. It was commissioned and premiered in Braunschweig, Germany, with further productions in Tel Aviv, Fuerth, and Vienna. The fantasy for voices and chamber ensemble Dark am I was commissioned and premiered by The Israel Festival in Jerusalem with further performances in Israel and Europe, and The Eternal Stranger for actor and orchestra was commissioned and premiered by the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, with further performances in Teatro Massimo in Palermo, NDR Philharmonic in Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, BBC Philharmonic in Manchester, Israel Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Tonhalle Orchester in Zurich, and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm.As a film composer, Ella wrote original music to the film Past Life (2016), also based on her lifes story, and directed by Avi Nesher. She won the Lys dOr 2017 award in the Montreal Israeli Film Festival forher music. Ella is currently working on a new opera about to be premiered in Vienna in 2024. Ellas works are published by Peters Edition and the earlier works are published by IMI, Israel.Israel means for me my homeland, my language, my culture,the impossible mixture of people from diverse cultures andreligions living together, creating a fascinating and unique society.A MOSAIC OF ISRAEL|75 UNSUNG HEROS'