Dov Seltzer

Who is Dov Seltzer?

Dov Seltzer, Israeli composer and conductor, born in Romania, began studying music at an early age. He studied theory and harmony with professors Alfred Mendelssohn and Michael Jora. When Seltzer immigrated to Israel at age 15, a musical comedy he had written continued to be played for two more years, performed by one of Bucharest's professional Youth Theaters. Seltzer finished his high school studies in Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek in Israel. At the recommendation of the pianist and teacher Frank Peleg, Seltzer was awarded a scholarship to continue his musical studies at the Haifa Conservatory and later in Tel Aviv.

At 18 he joined the Israel Defense Forces and was among the founders and the first official composer of the Nachal Musical Theater Group. The songs he wrote for the Nachal group, and the hundreds he wrote later on, are considered cornerstones of the Israeli folk and popular Music and are standard repertory on radio and TV worldwide.

During his military service, Seltzer received a special grant from the army to pursue studies in composition, harmony and counterpoint with composers Herbert Bruen, Mordechai Seter and professor Abel Erlich. Following his military service, Seltzer studied in the United States at the Mannes College of Music, receiving a diploma in composition, and then at State University of New York, where he earned a B.S. in music, majoring in conducting and composition. Among his teachers were Dr. Felix Salzer, Carl Bamberger, Roy Travis, Noah Sokolof and Robert Starer.