​Nizar Elkhater is the founder and CEO of the Harmonika Association. His work bridges performance, composition, and cultural education, spanning concert halls, orchestras, and academic institutions throughout the Middle East and internationally. Since 2017, he has hosted the acclaimed podcast Alhan, dedicated to the cultural and historical narratives behind Arabic music.

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Born in Lod in 1985 to a craftsman father and an Arabic teacher mother, Elkhater is the eldest of six children. He began studying piano at age six with Lotfi Elhisain, and continued at the Tel Aviv Israel Conservatory under Malka Mbaruch. By age twelve, he had composed several short waltzes, and at sixteen premiered his first piano concerto with a youth orchestra. He earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, and is currently completing his PhD at Bar-Ilan University.

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In 2012, Elkhater founded Abaad, a nine-member ensemble exploring the intersection of Arabic and classical music. In 2014, he established the Harmonika Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to accessible music education in underserved communities. The association now supports a growing number of choirs, orchestras, and community ensembles across Israel.

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From 2018 to 2020, he directed the “Abdaa’” branch of the conservatory near the Jerusalem Academy. Between 2019 and 2021, he served as National Music Coordinator for the Ministry of Culture’s Culture for the Periphery initiative. He currently teaches at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Ono Academic College, and the Alsheikh Center for Traditional Music.

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Elkhater has conducted dozens of orchestras across the Middle East and abroad. In 2022, his Mediterranean Suite premiered at the Vatican, performed by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra—a sweeping work that weaves together Arab, Andalusian, Turkish, and Balkan musical traditions.

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In 2023, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra recorded his composition Gift to Vietnam, based on two beloved Vietnamese songs—one associated with the legacy of Ho Chi Minh—as a tribute of cross-cultural appreciation.

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In November 2024, Elkhater’s newest symphonic poem will premiere at Carnegie Hall, reflecting on themes of identity, diaspora, and memory.

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Elkhater’s compositions have been featured in diverse artistic contexts. In 2022, his works appeared alongside Debussy, Samuel Barber, and Freddie Mercury in the closing production of the Jerusalem International Dance Festival, performed by eighteen international soloists. In 2021, he arranged and conducted a performance of Libayrout, a setting of Joaquín Rodrigo’s music with lyrics by Joseph Harb, sung by Maria Jubran and performed with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.

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Selected Works

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For Piano:

• Short Waltzes (1997)

• Elegy (1998)

• Rhapsody (1999)

• A Night with Cleopatra (2010)

• Waltz Andalus (2014)

• Intermezzo (2021)

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Chamber Works:

• Mowashah Andalusian (2016)

• Samai Hijaz (2018)

• Woodwind Trio (2018)

• Journey to Chaos – song cycle (2019)

• Soft Rain – song cycle (2020)

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Orchestral Works:​

• Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in F minor (2001)

• Taxim and Variations for East West Orchestra (2019)

• Overture for Chamber Orchestra (2020)

• Spring in the East – for string orchestra and four pianos (2020)

• Concertino: The Duke and Others (2021)

• Psalm – Zabour – for chamber choir and Baroque ensemble (2021)

• Mediterranean Suite – for symphony orchestra (2022)

• Gift to Vietnam (2023)

• Symphonic Poem (title forthcoming) – Premiering at Carnegie Hall, November 2024

 

Nizar Elkhater continues to perform internationally as a pianist and serves as an arranger and musical director for interdisciplinary projects that bridge cultures and art forms.