Itay Talgam is an orchestral conductor turned into ‘conductor of people’ – be it in in government, academia, business, education, therapy –  anywhere the creation of human harmony through cooperation is desired. He teaches leadership to Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits and universities, and at conferences around the world, including TED, Google’s Zeitgeist, and the World Economic Forum at Davos.

Itay’s talks, based of continuous dialogue, has been experienced either directly or on-line by millions of participants and viewers. His first book, The Ignorant Maestro, is published in May 2015 by Portfolio / Penguin.

Itay sees himself as a disciple of his great teacher, Leonard Bernstein. His international conducting debut took place in 1987, when he was chosen and presented by Maestro Bernstein in a special concert, conducting the Orchestre de Paris, Bernstein himself conducting the second half of the same concert. Since that highly successful performance, Talgam conducted many orchestras in Europe, being the first Israeli conductor to perform with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Leipzig Opera house. He also conducted and recorded with all of Israel’s major orchestras, including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

A native of Tel-Aviv, Itay Talgam received his Artist Diploma in conducting from the Jerusalem Rubin Academy. He then studied in France, Italy, and the US. He is also a graduate of General Philosophy studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.