David D'Or
Encyclopedia
David D'Or is an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i singer, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, and songwriter. A countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...

 with a vocal range
Vocal range
Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech and language pathology, particularly in relation to the study...

 of more than four octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...

s, he is a three-time winner of the Israeli "Singer of the Year" and "Best Vocal Performer" awards. He was also chosen to represent Israel in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2004
The Eurovision Song Contest 2004, was the 49th Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing "Everyway That I Can"...

, at which he placed 11th in the semifinal. By February 2008, nine of his albums had gone platinum.

D'Or, who has been referred to as "Israel's most acclaimed modern singer", and "who has taken the musical scene by storm", performs a wide variety of music, including pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

, dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...

, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

, klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...

, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

ite prayers, holy music, ancient chant
Chant
Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing...

s, classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

, and baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...

s (in the original Italian).

Heritage and early life

D'Or was born in Holon, Israel. He is a descendant of Jews expelled from 15th Century Spain during the Spanish Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...

. His great-grandfather was a prominent Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

n rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

, and his father brought the family from Libya to Israel.

When he was young, D'Or's parents encouraged him to become a lawyer or a doctor, but he simply loved to sing. When he reached the age at which his voice began to change, he worked to retain his ability to sing notes in a high range. To his surprise he was successful, and he then proceeded to develop his lower vocal range. For a while he was quite shy about singing using his high range, as it was unusual in Israel—which he explains used to be "quite a macho
Machismo
Machismo, or machoism, is a word of Spanish and Portuguese origin that describes prominently exhibited or excessive masculinity. As an attitude, machismo ranges from a personal sense of virility to a more extreme male chauvinism...

istic country—for someone to sing with such a high voice, and he had no one to imitate as no Israeli men sang in such a high voice, but he says that now it is "part of me." "[I]t was like using [only] part of me", he said. "I could sing low and I could sing high; [I]t's like using only one hand ... you have two hands, and you're using only your right hand."

During his three years of military service, D'Or served as a singer in the Israeli Military Band, and in 1985–86 he was in the Israeli Army Central Command troops entertainment group, and took part in the record Be'sha'araikh Yerikho. Though thankful for the opportunity, and sensitive to Israel's need to have an army to defend itself, D'Or felt that music and the army didn't mesh well together, and viewed his years in the army as a difficult period in terms of his musical development.

After D'Or completed his army service, he and two of his Military Band colleagues (Beni Nadler and Rivi Ben-Basht) formed a trio named HaShlishiya (the "Threesome"), but it disbanded after just one single. A few months later he formed another group, named Kav 4 ("Fourth Chord"), but it disbanded before completing its inaugural album. At the same time he was invited by the Israeli National Theater ("Habima Theater
Habima Theater
The Habima Theatre , is the national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv.-History:...

") to be in various performances, among them "Blood Marriage," "Cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...

," "Cry the Beloved Country (music by Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...

)," and "Tartuffe
Tartuffe
Tartuffe is a comedy by Molière. It is one of his most famous plays.-History:Molière wrote Tartuffe in 1664...

 (music by Giya Kancheli
Giya Kancheli
Giya Kancheli , born 10 August 1935, in Tbilisi, is a Georgian composer resident in Belgium.Since 1991, Kancheli has lived in Western Europe: first in Berlin, and since 1995 in Antwerp, where he is composer-in-residence for the Royal Flemish Philharmonic....

)." D’Or performed at the Habima Theater
Habima Theater
The Habima Theatre , is the national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv.-History:...

 for four years, during which time he received outstanding reviews, such as Maariv
Maariv
Maariv is a Hebrew language daily newspaper published in Israel. It is second in sales after Yedioth Ahronoth and third in readership after Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel HaYom. In a TGI survey comparing the last half of 2009 with the same period in 2008, Maariv saw its market share fall slightly...

s review of Cry the Beloved Country: "D'or's outstanding voice is meant for great parts. His voice and presence embraces the audience, who showed their appreciation by a lengthy standing ovation". He was at the same time professionally trained, and tutored by Soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

 Miriam Melzer, from 1987–90 at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance , founded in 1958 as the Rubin Academy of Music, is located on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.-History:...

, from which he graduated.

In 1991 D'Or was accepted into and enrolled in the Classical Music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

 Department of the Jerusalem Conservatory. That year D'Or also began his musical career as a classical tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...

. Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...

, Music Director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is the leading symphony orchestra in Israel. It was originally known as the Palestine Orchestra, and in Hebrew as התזמורת הסימפונית הארץ ישראלית The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit...

, heard D'Or sing and invited him to perform as soloist in "Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana (Orff)
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana...

" by Carl Orff
Carl Orff
Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...

, performing in a series of concerts all over the country. Yediot Achronot reviewed his performance, writing: "David D’Or is a contra tenor with tone, colour and exceptional style well beyond other soloists".

1992–99: Early years

In 1992 D’Or released his first album: David D'Or. It included hit song "Yad Anuga", also known as "Yad Agunah" ("Gentle Hand", or "Tender Hand"), which was remixed by Nelson "Paradise" Roman and Bump, produced by Ofer Meiri and Yehudit Ravitz
Yehudit Ravitz
Yehudit Ravitz is an Israeli singer-songwriter. She was born in Be'er Sheva, in southern Israel. As of 2010, she had released 20 albums and has been performing for nearly 20 years, also musically producing several albums for other musicians.-Music career:...

, released as a vinyl 12-inch single
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...

 by Big Beat Records and Magnet Records
Magnet Records
Magnet Records was a record label started in 1973 by Michael Levy and acquired by Warner Bros. Records in 1988 for an estimated £10m.Artists on the label included Alvin Stardust, Matchbox, Adrian Baker, Silver Convention, Guys 'n' Dolls, Darts, Kissing the Pink, Bad Manners, David D'Or, Blue Zoo...

, and reached # 3 in the most frequently played charts in Great Britain.http://www.discogs.com/David-DOr-Yad-Anouga/release/101490

His second album, Be'govah Mishtane ("Changing Altitudes", or "Changing Heights"), released January 1, 1993, included the song "Ani Af" ("I Fly", or "I am Flying"), and what was to become an iconic Israeli song, "Tishmor al HaOlam Yeled" ("Watch Over the World, Child", or "Protect Our World, Child"). The latter song was subsequently covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 by Liel Kolet
Liel Kolet
Liel Kolet is an Israeli singer, of Indian Jewish descent.-Biography:Liel Kolet was born on 11 July 1989 to Indian Jewish parents in the Kibbutz Kvutzat Kinneret where she also spent the rest of her childhood....

 and Scorpions
Scorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...

' singer Klaus Meine
Klaus Meine
Klaus Meine is a German singer, best known as the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of the heavy metal band Scorpions...

, as well as by Shuly Nathan. The CD, consisting mostly of songs composed by D'Or, was even more successful than its predecessor, and went platinum. Globus reviewed the album, and wrote: "in an age in which it seems that a good voice is not particularly necessary to be a singer, David D'Or comes along and reminds anyone who had forgotten that not only can things be different, they need to be different. Simply put, D'Or sings beautifully and knows how to choose songs that fit his unique voice.... One has to credit him for fulfilling his mission with bravura; his voice on stage sounds as good and convincing as it does in the recording studio. The wide variety of styles that he incorporates in his music, along with his superb vocal ability, allows him to appeal to adults and youths alike." Later in 1993 D'Or participated in the televised competition to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1993
The Eurovision Song Contest 1993 was the 38th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 15 May 1993 in Millstreet, County Cork, Ireland. The presenter was Fionnuala Sweeney. Niamh Kavanagh was the winner of this Eurovision for Ireland with the song, "In Your Eyes"...

 (Kdam Erovizion), with his song "Parpar," and came in fourth place.

Side by side with his classical education, D'Or was drawn to ethnic music. This interest led him in 1995 to record with Morrocan Israeli Shlomo Bar
Shlomo Bar
Shlomo Bar is an Israeli musician, composer, and social activist. He is a pioneer of ethnic music in Israel.- Biography :Born in Rabat, Morocco, in 1943, Bar emigrated to Israel a few years later. He learnt how to play the darbuka and other ethnic percussion instruments, performing in various small...

 and the band "Habrera Hativit" ("The Natural Gathering," "Natural Choice", or "Natural Selection"; composed of ethnic musicians) and release a popular new album, David & Shlomo (also known as David and Salomon). Maariv reviewed the album, writing: "The Duet of David and Shlomo is wonderful and stunning." He also joined Dudu Fisher
Dudu Fisher
David "Dudu" Fisher is an Israeli cantor and stage performer.He is best known for his Broadway performance as Jean Valjean in the musical Les Misérables.- Cantorial career :...

, Meir Banai
Meir Banai
Meir Banai is a well known and respected Israeli musician, singer, and songwriter, who has been called a "veteran star" and "one of the perennial big guns of Israeli music".- Biography :...

, and Eran Zur in the song "Lisa" on the 1994 album "Radio Blah-Blah" by the Israeli band "The Friends of Natasha
The Friends of Natasha
The Friends of Natasha or Natasha's Friends is a former Israeli rock band, highly regarded by critics, which was one of the most popular Israeli bands during the 1990s...

".http://www.discogs.com/Friends-Of-Natasha-Radio-Blah-Blah/release/1415500

In 1995, as Israel and the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 had just established political relations, D'Or also received an invitation from the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 to perform for Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

. His repertoire at this concert, which was broadcast worldwide and received enthusiastic reviews, united original ethnic music with European classics, and included a song D'Or composed specifically for the Pope in both Hebrew and Italian. He was the first Israeli singer to sing in Hebrew for the Pope. After he performed for the Pope ("He held my hand and gave me his blessing," D'Or said. "I just kept thinking: 'Here I am, little David from Israel, singing in Hebrew ... It was a very powerful thing.'"), D'Or was invited to perform in Italy, where he appeared on TV shows such as Maurizio Costanzo
Maurizio Costanzo
Maurizio Costanzo is an Italian television host and journalist. He is married to Maria De Filippi, an Italian television host.-Biography:Costanzo was born in Rome....

 on Channel 1, and Paulo Limiti on Channel 2. The Italian press, such as Corriere della Sera
Corriere della Sera
The Corriere della Sera is an Italian daily newspaper, published in Milan.It is among the oldest and most reputable Italian newspapers. Its main rivals are Rome's La Repubblica and Turin's La Stampa.- History :...

 and La Repubblica
La Repubblica
la Repubblica is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. Founded in 1976 in Rome by the journalist Eugenio Scalfari, as of 2008 is the second largest circulation newspaper, behind the Corriere della Sera.-Foundation:...

, gave D'Or positive reviews.

In 1997 D'Or released his fourth album, David D’Or & Etti Ankri, with Etti Ankri
Etti Ankri
Esther "Etti" Ankri is an Israeli singer-songwriter. She is a former Female Singer of the Year in Israel, and has also performed in the United States, England, and India. Ankri has been called a "rock genius", the "poet of Israeli spirituality," and "the contemporary voice of.....

, which included them singing a duet of Ankri's hit "Lolita". That year as well, the Ra'anana
Ra'anana
Ra'anana is a city in the heart of the southern Sharon Plain of the Central District of Israel with a population of 68,300, . Ra'anana is bordered by Kfar Sava on the east and Herzliya on the southwest...

 Symphony Orchestra commissioned an original work, a small cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....

, specially written for D'Or, entitled "The Children of God" ("Yeldai Ha Elohim"). The lyrics consist of sentences that appear in the Jewish, Moslem, and Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 religions, emphasizing the message of "love your neighbor." The work was composed by Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

-born Israeli composer Josef Bardanashvilli, subsequently opened in a series of concerts of the orchestra in Israel and throughout the US, and was a great success.

2000–present: Singer of the Year and Eurovision

His fifth album, each of which went platinum, was the pop CD Baneshama ("In the Soul"), released on March 31, 2001, and containing 11 songs (of 12) composed by D'Or.

In 2001 D'Or was named Israel's Singer of the Year and Best Vocal Performer. In 2002 he was again named Israel's Singer of the Year (receiving the "Tamuz
Tamuz
* For the month of Jewish calendar, see Tammuz .* For the month of Arabic and Babylonian calendar, see Tammuz .* For a supernatural creature from Babylonian mythology, see Tammuz ....

 Prize") and Best Vocal Performer, and also received the award for Best Song for "Kol HaCochavim" at the Israel Music Awards. After 9/11 D'Or and Etti Ankri
Etti Ankri
Esther "Etti" Ankri is an Israeli singer-songwriter. She is a former Female Singer of the Year in Israel, and has also performed in the United States, England, and India. Ankri has been called a "rock genius", the "poet of Israeli spirituality," and "the contemporary voice of.....

, Zehava Ben
Zehava Ben
Zehava Ben is one of the most popular Israeli female vocalists in the Mizrahi music genre; the Middle Eastern-style of singing rising from Israel's Mizrahi Jewish population, dominating Israeli music in the 1990s and popular ever since.-Early life:...

, Arkady Duchin
Arkadi Duchin
Arkadi Duchin is an Israeli singer-songwriter and musical producer.-Early life:Duchin was born in Babruysk, Belarus. He immigrated to Israel at the age of 15.-Music career:...

, and other Israeli singers recorded the title song "Yesh Od Tikvah" ("Our Hope Endures"), for which D'Or wrote the music and lyrics, on the CD Yesh Od Tikvah/You've Got a Friend. The CD, released by Hed Arzi in 2002, benefitted Israeli terror victims, with all proceeds going to "NATAL": the "Israel Trauma Center
Trauma center
A trauma center is a hospital equipped to provide comprehensive emergency medical services to patients suffering traumatic injuries. Trauma centers grew into existence out of the realization that traumatic injury is a disease process unto itself requiring specialized and experienced...

 for Victims of Terror and War".

D’Or then released David D’Or & the Philharmonic; Live Concert on April 1, 2003, which successfully broke traditional barriers as it combined a medley
Medley (music)
In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks...

 of pop, classical, and opera which he sang, backed by the 120-member Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The album, which included among other pieces "Agnus Dei", "Orfeo
Orfeo
L'Orfeo , sometimes called L'Orfeo, favola in musica, is an early Baroque opera by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and tells the story of his descent to Hades and his fruitless attempt to bring his dead bride Eurydice back to...

", "Let Me Cry
Let Me Cry
“Let Me Cry” was Bulgaria’s entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in English by Mariana Popova.The song was performed second in the semi-final “Let Me Cry” was Bulgaria’s entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in English by Mariana Popova.The song was performed second...

", and "The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (song)
"The Phantom of the Opera" is a song from the stage musical of the same name, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, sung by Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, lyrics written by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, and additional lyrics by Mike Batt...

" reached gold status in just two weeks. The newspaper Yediot Achronot reviewed the CD in its opera section, and wrote: "D’Or excelled ... with his fantastic counter tenor voice.... in a most exciting performance. All in all, this is a very moving CD." That year D'Or also released the CD "Shma Israel", http://www.israel-music.com/david_dor/shma_israel_6680/ and "The Hidden Gate: Jewish Music from Around the World" was released by Rounder Records
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...

 on July 1, featuring what The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

 described as "haunting stuff" from David D'Or.

In November 2003, the Israel Broadcasting Authority
Israel Broadcasting Authority
Israel Broadcasting Authority is Israel's state broadcasting network.It grew out of the radio station Kol Yisrael, which made its first broadcast as an independent station on . The name of the organisation operating Kol Yisrael was changed to Israel Broadcasting Service in 1951...

 (the "IBA") chose D'Or to represent the country in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest. D'Or represented Israel in the contest in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

, with the song "Leha'amin
Leha'Amin
"Leha'amin" was the Israeli entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, performed in Hebrew and English by David D'Or....

" (To Believe), which he co-wrote with Ehud Manor
Ehud Manor
Ehud Manor was an Israeli songwriter, translator, and radio and TV personality.-Career:Manor began working for Israel radio in the 1960s, as a musical editor...

. The song was chosen on February 5, 2004, in voting during the program "Israel Selects a Song," held during a break in a televised Maccabi Tel Aviv Euroleague
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...

 basketball game in Tel Aviv at which videos of four songs sung by D'Or were shown. The vote was by both a special IBA Eurovision Committee (including prior Israeli entrants Lior Narkis
Lior Narkis
Lior Narkis is a male Israeli singer. He was born to a mixed Iraqi and Serbian Jewish family.-Music career:...

 and Gali Atari
Gali Atari
Avigail "Gali" Atari is an Israeli actress and singer.-Career:She first appeared on the international scene in 1971, when she represented Israel at the World Popular Song Festival in Japan with the songs "All free" and "Give love away"...

), which accounted for 40% of the vote, and a televote by viewers, who accounted for the remaining 60% of the vote. The basketball game attracted 13.7% of Israeli TV viewers. The song won 60% of the jury's vote, and 66% of the viewers' televotes.

During Eurovision rehearsal week D'Or left Istanbul to be with his father, who was suffering from diabetes and had been rushed to a hospital, where one of his legs had to be amputated. D'Or then returned to Istanbul to perform on May 12, 2004, and placed 11th in the semifinal failing to qualify to the final, while 19% of Israeli viewers watched on television. His father has since died.

On June 1, 2004, he released the CD Le Haamin ("To Believe"). His performance of the song was also on the official Eurovision compilation CD, Eurovision Song Contest: Istanbul 2004, released that year by CMC Entertainment. http://www.discogs.com/Various-Eurovision-Song-Contest-Istanbul-2004/release/874143 In 2004 he also collaborated with Sarit Hadad
Sarit Hadad
Sarit Hadad is an acclaimed Israeli singer. She stems from a musician family with both origins in the Tunisia and Caucases...

 to record the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 "Pets in Tunes. http://www.israel-music.com/various/pets_tunes/ His year was capped by his being awarded the titles of Israeli 2004 "Singer of the Year" and "Best Vocal Performer".

In January 2005 he released a clubby, English electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

 vinyl 12" single of George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...

's "Careless Whisper
Careless Whisper
"Careless Whisper" is a 1984 single by George Michael , released by Epic Records in the UK, Japan, and other countries; and by Columbia Records in North America. The song was George Michael's first solo single although he was still performing in Wham! at the time...

" on the 3 Lanka and Hed Arzi labels, produced and mixed by DJ Amiad, with remixes by Future Funk and Michi Lange.http://www.discogs.com/DJ-Amiad-Careless-Whisper/release/378322 The track attracted international interest.

On March 27, 2006, D'Or released Kmo HaRuach ("Like the Wind"), which included duets with Israeli singers Arkadi Duchin
Arkadi Duchin
Arkadi Duchin is an Israeli singer-songwriter and musical producer.-Early life:Duchin was born in Babruysk, Belarus. He immigrated to Israel at the age of 15.-Music career:...

, Arik Einstein
Arik Einstein
Arik Einstein is an Israeli singer-songwriter.Einstein was a vocalist for Batzal Yarok , Shleeshiyat Gesher Hayarkon and Hahalonot Hagvohim . His collaboration with Shalom Hanoch and the Churchills planted the seeds for the first Israeli rock albums...

, Shlomi Shabat
Shlomi Shabat
Shlomi Shabat is a popular Israeli singer, musician, and artist who sings in the oriental Mizrahi style. He comes from a sephardic family that immigrated from Turkey, and sings in Hebrew, Turkish, and Spanish.-Musical career:...

, and Ehud Banai
Ehud Banai
-Early life:Banai, of Persian Jewish and Afghan Jewish descent, was born in Jerusalem to the actor Yaakov Banai, the eldest of the Banai siblings, and moved to Givataim at the age of four.-Music career:...

, and the song "Zman Ahava" ("Time for Love") with Ehud Banai
Ehud Banai
-Early life:Banai, of Persian Jewish and Afghan Jewish descent, was born in Jerusalem to the actor Yaakov Banai, the eldest of the Banai siblings, and moved to Givataim at the age of four.-Music career:...

. D'Or composed all the songs on the album, combining world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...

 with jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, Thai
Music of Thailand
The music of Thailand reflects its geographic position at the intersection of China and India, and reflects trade routes that have historically included Persia, Africa, Greece and Rome...

, and Indian
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...

 elements. In 2006 D'Or also collaborated with rapper Subliminal
Subliminal (rapper)
Ya'akov "Kobi" Shimoni , generally known by his stage name Subliminal , is an Israeli hip hop artist and music producer.-Background:...

 for the song "Ten Koah" ("Give Me Strength") on Subliminal's hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

 album, Just When You Thought it Was Over. He also joined Shlomo Bar in a duet of "Atzlano Kafar Todrah" for the CD The Rough Guide to the Music of Israel released on February 17, 2006, and sang the song "Travelling North" or "Heading North" ("Nose'a Tzafonah") on the 2006 CD To the North with Love ("Latsafon Be'ahava"). http://www.israel-music.com/various/to_north_with_love/

On May 19, 2007, D’Or performed with soprano Seiko Lee
Seiko Lee
Japanese soprano, Seiko Lee began her musical studies at age five in Tokyo As a member of the NHK Children's Chorus for ten years she traveled on several good-will tours including a concert tour of Eastern Europe in 1976. After marrying a Korean she became interested in Korean music and has...

 in the world premier performance of the 40-minute ten-movement
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...

 "peace cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....

," "Halelu—Songs of David," in Belgrade, Serbia. The concert was televised to six other Eastern European countries. The composition for solo voices, chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

, and orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

, was a collaborative effort of D’Or and American composer/conductor David Eaton, Music Director of the New York City Symphony, who conducted the combined Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra
Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra
The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra in Serbia, regularly considered as one of the finest in the country. Its home base is in Belgrade.- History :...

 and the 120-voice choir of the Academic Cultural Artistic Society. Halelu is sung in English, Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, with greetings of peace of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

, Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

, and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 figuring prominently in the lyrical content of several movements, and with Psalm 113 (sung in Hebrew by D’Or) as the basis of the 4th movement. He then released Halelu—Songs of David; Cantata for Peace (2007), in which he was accompanied by Lee, the Ra'anana
Ra'anana
Ra'anana is a city in the heart of the southern Sharon Plain of the Central District of Israel with a population of 68,300, . Ra'anana is bordered by Kfar Sava on the east and Herzliya on the southwest...

 Symphony Orchestra, and members of the Philharmonia Chorus of Israel.

D'Or sang for Dr. Martin Luther King III
Martin Luther King III
Martin Luther King III is an American human rights advocate and community activist. He is the eldest son and oldest living child of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. His siblings are Dexter Scott King, Rev. Bernice Albertine King, and the late Yolanda Denise...

 at a Middle East Peace Initiative (MEPI) Conference in the summer of 2007 in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

. King was in tears as D'Or finished his rendition of "Summertime
Summertime (song)
"Summertime" is an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, although the song is also co-credited to Ira Gershwin by ASCAP....

," and the crowd was on its feet cheering. King was so moved that he extended an invitation to D'Or to sing at the 2008 "Realize the Dream" celebration honoring King's birthday at the Covenant Avenue Baptist Church in Harlem, New York – the last church in New York City that Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...

, spoke at prior to his 1968 assassination
Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination
Martin Luther King, Jr., a prominent American leader of the African-American civil rights movement and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39...

. D'Or obliged, with a performance of "Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...

" before a crowd including former President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 and Dr. King, who was reduced to tears.

He also performed in the 2007 WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) festival concert, and in reviewing his performance BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...

 referred to his voice as "sensational". D'Or described an experience that he had singing at the festival as follows: "I had a concert in the Canary Islands ... in the WOMAD Festival in front of something like 20,000 people, and then I saw just in front of me, a group of Palestinian young people with a huge Palestinian flag. And at the beginning I was very tense because I didn't know what their intentions were. I closed my eyes and said 'Look, you speak always about the power of music and how music can get people close to each other', and I was like aiming to their heart, and I'm singing especially for them, and then when I opened my eyes and I saw those people dancing with the Palestinian flag and singing with me together, and it was for me like an amazing sight, because this is something that I don't think ever happened before. I don't know why this world ... is choosing ... always ... war and hate, because things are much easier to solve if you just want to solve them, that's what I feel. And maybe it's naïve, but this is my belief."

On December 11, 2007, D'Or released Live Concert. D'Or composed most of the songs on the album, which included "Kiss from a Rose" (in English), "Sri Lanka" (instrumental), and an Arabic song.

In 2008 D'Or also released Shirat Rabim ("Prayers", or "Songs of the Many"—"A World Prayer; The Jewish Project of David D'Or and Patric Sabag"), a collection of prayers that he had originally heard from his father, and which he focused on when he started attending synagogue to say kaddish
Kaddish
Kaddish is a prayer found in the Jewish prayer service. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy different versions of the Kaddish are used functionally as separators between sections of the service...

 after his father's death. The album went gold in just three weeks. He also performed in all the 2008 WOMAD festival concerts, including in London with Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...

, the founder of the world music festival, and won the WOMAD "Favorite of the Audience" Award,
though one reviewer wrote that "his reverb-drenched voice can sound bombastic, even when he is praying for peace. He is more successful when ... in dance-pop". His performance of the song "Lecha D'odi" is featured on the compilation album Womad New Zealand 2008, which was released on June 2, 2008, by Shock Records
Shock Records
Shock Records is Australia's largest independent record label. It helps distribute records from overseas records labels such as Epitaph Records, and also for small record labels designed specifically for that band such as Cement Records...

. The year was capped when D'Or became an Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation
Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation
The Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation is a private cultural foundation which aims to identify, nurture, and support Israel's most outstanding artists....

 ("IcExcellence") chosen artist in 2008, receiving one of Israel's highest recognitions for excellence in the arts.

In 2008 and 2009, D'Or performed in a series of "Voice of Love" charity concerts for the Tzu Chi Foundation in the United States (New York, San Francisco, San Jose, Pasadena, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, New Jersey, and Washington DC) and Asia (the Philippines and Taiwan), and recorded a CD and DVD by the same name, donating all of the profits to charity. http://www.us.tzuchi.org/usa/home.nsf/Type1/k12021 http://www.us.tzuchi.org/usa/home.nsf/photoNewsList/F491685D007E3F168825748E006618BE http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-TW&u=http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/8/9/24/n2273696.htm&ei=jys0SrGaBdSEtwf3iZH5Dg&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=24&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522voice%2Bof%2Blove%2522%2B%2522david%2Bd%2527or%2522%2B%2522cd%2522%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26sa%3DG%26num%3D100 The CD has since gone platinum. The foundation works to improve social and community services, medical care, education, and humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....

 in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

 and around the world. By helping others, D’Or said, the foundation, while Buddhist and not Jewish, is involved in the spirit of the Jewish concept of tikun olam, or "repairing the world". "We believe that all humanity is connected in a way", said D'Or.

D'Or sang a medley including "Amazing Grace" and a rendition of the traditional Hebrew melody "Avinu Malkeinu
Avinu Malkeinu
Avinu Malkeinu or Abhiynu Malkenu is a Jewish prayer recited during Jewish services on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, on the Ten Days of Repentance from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur...

" at New York's Apollo Theater
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...

 in Harlem on April 28, 2009, with three New York gospel choirs.

In May 2009 D'Or sang, along with Dudu Fisher
Dudu Fisher
David "Dudu" Fisher is an Israeli cantor and stage performer.He is best known for his Broadway performance as Jean Valjean in the musical Les Misérables.- Cantorial career :...

 and the "Arab-Jewish Girl's Choir", for Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

 in Jerusalem at the home of Israeli President Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...

 as the Pope visited Israel.

Voice

D'Or's voice has a range (or "diapason
Pythagorean interval
In musical tuning theory, a Pythagorean interval is a musical interval with frequency ratio equal to a power of two divided by a power of three, or vice versa...

) of more than four octaves. His vocal range in head voice
Head voice
Head voice is a term used within vocal music. The use of this term varies widely within vocal pedagogical circles and there is currently no one consistent opinion among vocal music professionals regarding this term...

 is from G3 in scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...

, up to a well-defined G5 (as heard in one of the final notes in the "Phantom of the Opera
Phantom of the Opera (song)
"Phantom of the Opera" is a song from Iron Maiden's self-titled debut album. It was written by Steve Harris. It is the fourth track from the original US & UK album releases, and was the fifth track from the remastered 1998 release CD. It is based on the French novel The Phantom of the Opera by...

" track in his album David D'Or and the Philharmonic), thus making him a "mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...

" type of countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...

.

D'Or's voice is unusually versatile and flexible, and notable for its unique tone and color, and for having a very recognizable sound. His voice is characterized by powerful fullness and richness, making it seem as though it is his natural singing voice, created without use of the falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...

 technique. However, despite its richness his voice cannot be compared to the color of a contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...

, unlike singers such as David Daniels, given that D'Or has a unique, male-sounding timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...

. When he sings in modern fashion, he employs his speaking—or chest—voice
Chest voice
Chest voice is a term used within vocal music. The use of this term varies widely within vocal pedagogical circles and there is currently no one consistent opinion among vocal music professionals in regards to this term...

, instead of his singing, alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...

 voice. D'Or has been compared to Italian tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...

 Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....

 ( but with a Middle Eastern flavor), and his voice has been described as having Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (musician)
Jack Johnson was born May 18, 1975 is an American folk rock singer-songwriter, surfer and musician known for his work in the soft rock and acoustic genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. He has since released four more albums, a...

-esque smoothness overlaid with Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...

-esque falsetto.

Performances

In addition to singing for two Popes, D'Or has also sung for Israeli President Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...

, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...

, King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej is the current King of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX...

 of Thailand, the King and Queen of Sweden at the Swedish Royal Palace in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

, Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

, and Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

.

D’Or has performed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is the leading symphony orchestra in Israel. It was originally known as the Palestine Orchestra, and in Hebrew as התזמורת הסימפונית הארץ ישראלית The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit...

, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Rome Philharmonic, the London Symphony
London Symphony
London Symphony may refer to:*London Symphony Orchestra*Symphony No. 104 , by composer Joseph Haydn*A London Symphony, the Second Symphony by composer Ralph Vaughan Williams...

, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
The Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....

, the Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

 Philharmonic, the China Philharmonic Orchestra
China Philharmonic Orchestra
The China Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra founded in Beijing, China on May 25, 2000, based on the previous "China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra"...

, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra is a 96 members professional symphony orchestra. Its main performing venue is the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore although it has also toured widely in Asia, Europe and the United States...

, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra
Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra
The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra in Serbia, regularly considered as one of the finest in the country. Its home base is in Belgrade.- History :...

, the New York Symphony Orchestra
New York Symphony Orchestra
The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a fierce rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie who built Carnegie Hall expressly for the...

, the Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra
Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra
The Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra is a symphony orchestra serving the Las Vegas metropolitan area. It was founded on July 4, 1998 by Harold Weller and Susan and Andrew Tompkins. The current music director and conductor is David Itkin. The orchestra's current venue is Artemus W. Ham Hall on the...

, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland.In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.The BSO Board...

.

D'Or has performed across the world, including in the United States, England, the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

, Sweden, Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

, Italy, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, India, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, Australia, China, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, and Israel. He sang before audiences of 55,000 people in Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...

 in London, and 40,000 in Paris.

Personal life

D'Or, who grew up in Holon, and his wife Pazit, formerly a jewelry designer and now his manager, first met as high school students in Bat Yam. They have two children, and reside in the town of Savyon
Savyon
Savyon is a local council in the Center District of Israel, bordering the cities of Kiryat Ono, Petah Tikva, and Yehud. Ranked 10/10 on the Israeli socio-economic scale, it is one of the wealthiest municipalities in Israel, being both famous and infamous for it...

, near Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

.

Pseudonym meaning

D'Or means "golden" or "of gold" in French, and in Francophone countries he is referred to as "golden David" or "David of gold".

Albums

Year Title (English) IFPI Israel Certification Label
1992 David D'Or "David D'Or" Platinum Hed Arzi
1993 Begovah Mishtaneh "Changing Altitudes", or
"Changing Heights"
Double Platinum Hed Arzi
1995 David & Shlomo "David and Salomon" Platinum Hed Arzi
1997 David D’Or & Etti Ankri "David D’Or & Etti Ankri" Double Platinum Hed Arzi
2001 Baneshama "In the Soul" Platinum SISU
SISU Home Entertainment
SISU Home Entertainment, Inc. is a U.S. marketer and distributor of Israeli and Jewish video, audio, book, and multimedia properties. It was established in 1988....

2003 David D’Or VehaPhilharmonic "David D’eor & the Philharmonic;
Live Concert"
Platinum Aviv
Aviv Productions
Aviv Productions, Inc. is a North American arts and entertainment agency, founded in 1994 and headed by Itzik Becher, President. It manages, books, and produces various genres of music, dance, and drama. Its artists perform in concert halls worldwide...

2004 Le Haamin "To Believe" Platinum SISU
2006 Kmo HaRuach "Like the Wind" Gold SISU
2007 Ofa'a Haia "Live Concert" Platinum Hed Arzi
2007 Halelu—Shirim Shel David;
Cantata LeShalom
"Halelu—Songs of David;
Cantata for Peace"
Hed Arzi
2008 Shirat Rabim "Prayers", or
"Songs of the Many—A World Prayer"
Gold Hed Arzi
2008 聽見愛的聲音 "Voice of Love" Platinum Da Jung Jang

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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