Early life

Brand studied piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 and double bass

Double bass

The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...

 while growing up in Beer Sheva

Beersheba

Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....

. His first big break came at the age of 17 when Chick Corea

Chick Corea

Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...

 invited him to join Chick on stage at the Jerusalem International Convention Center

International Convention Center (Jerusalem)

The International Convention Centre , commonly known as Binyenei HaUma , is a concert hall and conventional center in Giv'at Ram in Jerusalem, Israel. It is the largest convention center in the Middle East...

 at the piano. Nir wowed the audience, critics and Mr. Corea himself. During his army service, Nir performed with the famous Army Entertainment Group working with top Israeli musicians such as Rita

Rita Kleinstein

Rita Yahan-Farouz is an Iranian-born Israeli pop singer and actress.-Early life:Rita Yahan-Farouz was born in Tehran, Iran. Her family emigrated to Israel in 1970.-Musical and acting career:-1980s:...

 and Rami Kleinstein

Rami Kleinstein

-Biography:Rami Kleinstein was born in New York. He moved to Israel with his family in 1970. As a child, he studied piano and classical music. In 1988, he married the Israeli singer Rita, with whom he performed as a duo during their military service in the early 1980s. Kleinstein subsequently...

, Hanokh Rosen and others. After leaving the army, Nir studied conducting and composition at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...

.

Nir's one man show

A chance meeting at a restaurant with Yuval Dor, member of the band Hakol Over Habibi

Hakol Over Habibi

Hakol Over Habibi was an Israeli musical band which represented their country in Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song "Halayla". The band consisted of: Shlomit Aharon, Kikki Rotstein, Yuval Dor and Ami Mendelman. They had originally been offered the song "Hallelujah" as a potential Eurovision...

 and a unique solo artist himself, led to building Nir's own enormously successful one man show Life Is A Concert which he has presented to a wide range of audiences has performed more than 2,000 shows up to date. In 2001, Brand made his American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 debut performance of Life Is A Concert in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

.

ClassiKid

In 2001, Brand faced a great number of people, suggesting that he creates a similar programme for children, which gave birth to ClassiKid

ClassiKid

The ClassiKid musical program was founded by musician and conductor Nir Brand in 2000, in Israel.-About the program:The program is a series of lecture workshops and performances held in schools, and designed to bring music to children in order to enrich their cultural experience...

. Today, ClassiKid is a musical experience that is simultaneously entertaining and educational. Its main purpose is to help develop a child's own sense of self and then build on that individuality to encourage mutual respect and understanding of others and encourage teamwork

Teamwork

Teamwork is action performed by a team towards a common goal. A team consists of more than one person, each of whom typically has different responsibilities....

. Throughohut the programme children are given a guided tour of the history of music with a variety of different classical musical styles and pieces being utilised within the classes to emphasise the lessons being imparted by the musician.
Each year of the programme is based on 7 separate events, varying in size from those for each individual class to those for the whole school. Over 100,000 students have joined the programme so far, and the numbers are expected to get higher in the next few years. Cities in which the program is taught, include Sderot

Sderot

Sderot is a western Negev city in the Southern District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 20,700. The city has been an ongoing target of Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip...

 and Ashkelon

Ashkelon

Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...

, which is helping the kids to cope with the recent attacks caused by Hamas

Hamas

Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

.

External links

• Official website