ALDEMA, GIL

ALDEMA, GIL (1928– ), Israeli musician and composer. Aldema's father, Abraham Eisenstein (Aldema), was active in the early Israeli satirical theater. Gil Aldema studied piano and violin. Among his teachers were Menashe Rabina and Paul ben-haim . During his army service he was wounded. Later he studied at the Jerusalem Music Academy and directed folk singing activities. In 1952 he became a music teacher and composed his early songs. In 1957 he went to the U.S. to study music and worked as a music arranger for the Carmon Dance Company. From the 1960s to the 1980s he worked at Kol Israel (Israel Broadcasting Authority) as a musical director of light music. Aldema is known for his work and arrangements for choirs such as Rinat, Cameran, and others. He composed many songs, such as "Ana Halakh Dodekh," "Ashirah li-Yediday," "Zemer Ikkarim," "Maḥol Dayyagim," and more, which were published in Ẓiyyunei ha-Derekh (1979), Maḥberet Mezameret (1981), Shir le-Elef Arisot (1983), and Menifah Kolit (2000). Among his awards are the AKUM Prize for his contribution to Israeli folk music (1984) and the Israel Prize for Israeli folk songs (2004). (Gila Flam (2nd ed.)