Full Biography

Former first chair flutist of the Israel Philharmonic (IPO) from 1997–2014, flutist-conductor Eyal Ein-Habar is currently Flute Professor at the Musikhochschule Münster and the Music Director of the upcoming NRW Flute Days (Germany, 2021). Winner of international competitions and awards, Ein-Habar’s international career has taken him around the globe as a soloist, conductor and teacher. 

Eyal had his debut as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic under the baton of Zubin Mehta at the age of 18. Shortly after, he joined Jean-Pierre Rampal as a co-soloist on a concert tour. He had a memorable debut at Carnegie Hall in 2008 as the featured soloist with the IPO and Gustavo Dudamel, performing Bernstein’s Halil. This performance, as well as others at Disney Hall in Los Angeles and other venues throughout the United States, received great critical and public acclaim.

He appears regularly both as a soloist and as a conductor with all the major Israeli orchestras, including the Israel Philharmonic, as well as with numerous orchestras around the world. He gives international recitals and master classes and has appeared in chamber music festivals and concert tours in Israel, Europe, North and South America and Canada. He was a jury member of the Concours de Genève as it celebrated its 75th anniversary.

Ein-Habar is a founding member of the Israel Woodwind Quintet as well as the Israel Flute Choir. He has recorded chamber music with the Quintet, with the Israel Flute Ensemble and others. His recordings can be found on Centaur Records (USA), Meridian (England), IMI (Israel) and other labels. His CD, It Takes Two to Trio (Centaur Records), with trios for flute, oboe and keyboard, was highly praised by the American Record Guide and by Pan Magazine of the British Flute Association.

He has also served as the Head of the Orchestral training program at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music as well as the Music Director of the Classica Orchestra Rehovot and the Israel Flute Choir.

Eyal is a winner of the 1992 Scheveningen International Flute Competition, Holland, the 1996 Francois Shapira Competition, Israel, and a prize winner of the 1993 Kobe International Flute Competition, Japan. He has been a recipient of America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarships (1983-1996).