Mia Shavit z”l was born and raised in Kibbutz Maabarot, where she absorbed as much culture as she could. Mia studied musicology at the Tel Aviv college’s Faculty of Music education and at Tel Aviv University.  She studied conducting with Gary Bertini and John Oldis at the Guildhall School of Music in London, sang under the baton of Bertini in the Rinat choir, and conducted the Kibbutz Artzi and Emek Hefer choirs. In 1981, she founded the Efroni choir and served as the artistic director and conductor of the representative choir for over 30 years. While working with the choir, Mia attached great importance to teaching methods and, in the process, developed unique artistic creation techniques, which she taught in Israel and overseas. She also taught conducting and methodology in youth choirs at the Academy of Music in Jerusalem, at Oranim, and at the Music Academy of the Levinsky Academic Center of Education.

 

In 1982, she launched the “Composers write for youth choirs” program, an undertaking which is considered a turning point to this day. In her work, Mia made sure the focus was always on getting acquainted with diverse Israeli traditions and cultures, especially the Arab culture. That is why she collaborated with Arab-Israeli and Palestinian choirs for many years. Between 2003 and 2009 she was president of Hillel (the national choirs organization), which she represented at the International Federation for Choral Music - the IFCM. In December 2002, Mia Shavit was awarded the Ministry of Science, Culture and Sports prize in memory of Frank Pelleg for her outstanding artistic endeavors of many years. In 2012, she won, along  with the choir, the Mifal Hapayis Performing arts prize in memory of Landau.

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 Mia Shavit left us in July 2021, may her memory be blessed. 

 

“The Efroni choir’s contribution, under the baton of founder Mia Shavit, meets all the prize’s requirements, be it the excellent singing and interpreting standards, or the fact that for three decades, the choir has spearheaded the development of choir culture in Israel. Mia Shavit, the choir’s conductor, managed to combine musical creation at the highest standard with music education on varied subjects.”  

Excerpt of the statement made by the panel of judges of the Mifal Hapayis Performing arts and science prize