Nachum Heiman

Nachum Heiman
Born	(1934-05-06)May 6, 1934 Riga,Latvia
Died	August 17, 2016(2016-08-17)(aged 82) Kfar Saba,Israel
Genres	Folk
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instrument(s)	Piano, accordion, harmonica
Years active	1951–2016
Website	https://nachumheiman.co.il/

Nachum Heiman(Hebrew:נחום היימן;May 6, 1934 – August 17, 2016)was an Israeli composer and musician. Some of the over 1,000 songs he composedhave become classics of Israeli folk music.

Biography

Nachum (Nakhche) Heiman was born inRiga,Latvia in 1934 to a musical family that immigrated toMandatory Palestinewhen he was five years old. As a child he began playing the piano. After becoming ill with polio at the age of nine, he switched to playing theaccordionand the harmonica. He was hospitalized for three and a half years in aniron lunguntil he recovered. At age 14, following his parents' divorce, he moved toKibbutzNa'anas ayeled hutz(child from outside the kibbutz), where he studied with kibbutz members Yehuda Oren and composerDavid Zahavi.

After his mother remarried, he moved with her toRehovot,where he composed his first song, "Nitzanim niru ba'aretz" (text from theSong of Songs) at 17 years of age. Since he did not get along with his stepfather, he moved toKfar HaMaccabi,where he metMatityahu Shalemfrom nearby KibbutzRamat Yohanan.He worked with Shalem as a shepherd and studied with him and his colleagues. Under the influence ofGurit Kadman,one of the pioneers of Israeli folk dance, Heiman began to work as an accordionist for folk-dancing events.

In the army, Heiman coordinated song and dance classes and played the accordion for the firstNahaltroupe. He fought in three wars and was wounded in all of them. When he married Dalia Colton, the mother of his two daughters – Billie and Si, a well-known singer – they moved to KibbutzBeit Alpha.

Heiman died in Meir Hospital inKfar Sabaon August 17, 2016, of a severe infection following prolonged ill health.He was 82.

Music career

Heiman worked as a music teacher and established theGevatronchoir. He composed dozens of songs for the poetNatan Yonatan,took young singers and bands under his wing in the 1960s, and wrote music for 122 films and TV shows. From the late 1960s to the mid-1980s he lived in Paris and London, where he ran a music production and record company, Hi-Man Music. He worked with artists such asNana Mouskouri,Marie Laforêt,Serge Lama,Rika Zarai,Mike Brant,Carlos Miranda,Luis Jardim,Geoff Downesand Hanny Livne.

In 1999, Heiman declared bankruptcy, but eventually repaid all his debts. In 2002,he established the Hebrew Song Heritage Association, a non-profit organization devoted to Israel's musical heritage. He devoted his time to restoring early Hebrew recordings, and served as the association'sartistic directoruntil his retirement in 2011.In 2009 he won theIsrael Prizein the field of Hebrew song.

In his latter years, twice divorced and separated from his third wife, Heiman suffered from ill health and financial hardship. A television feature about him prompted Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahuand then-Culture MinisterLimor Livnatto employ him as a consultant for a project to preserve and document Hebrew songs. A documentary of his life, made by Anat Goren, was aired in 2015 on Israel'sYes Docuchannel.

See also

• Music of Israel

External links

• Official website