YURI POVOLOTSKY was born in 1962 in Odesa. In 1986 he graduated from the Gnessin Academy of Music, where he studied composition with Heinrich Litinsky and Alexei Muravlev. Since 1991 he has lived in Israel.

He composes in a wide variety of genres, including symphonic, chamber and choral works, songs and romances, albums for children and youth, musicals and music for theatre, film, radio and television. His compositions have been performed internationally.

He is the author of a number of works in the style of “Jewish Soul.” In 1999-2004, he was the musical director of Lama Lo! and in 2004, he created the jazz klezmer band Apropo.art. The repertoire of these bands included original compositions and arrangements of traditional Jewish music.

He is an active pedagogue and a frequent performer, appearing as a pianist, concertmaster, arranger and musical director of various projects. He publishes musicology and cultural studies articles and essays in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. He collaborated with the Israeli radio station KAN-REKA as a co-host of the programme ‘With a Composer about Composers’ (2017-2020).

He was awarded the 2009 Yuri Stern Prize in Composition and the 2007 Olive of Jerusalem Prize for his contribution to the development of Jewish musical folklore.