Yohanan Cinnamon
Composer
Yohanan Cinnamon, born in London in 1959 to a French mother and English father, has enjoyed a musical journey over the course of his lifetime which is characterized by his love of music and a gift for melody. Despite a lack of formal musical education during his formative years, Yohanan's deep-rooted connection to music emerged at a young age, thanks to cherished Sunday afternoons spent with his father, the two immersing themselves in his collection of classical records. These early experiences ignited a profound love for music that has only grown in the decades since his formative years. At the age of 13, Yohanan received a portable record player, a gift that set him on a path of his own musical exploration. While learning the tenets of melody and harmony through study of the guitar, he began crafting simple songs. The composer recalls busking in Athens as a teenager after a pickpocket left him penniless and sharing his modest earnings with fellow street performers he befriended in the process, thus solidifying his understanding that music inherently creates community.
Yohanan's life took a transformative turn at 18 when he embarked on a summer sojourn to an Israeli kibbutz. This journey marked the start of a lifelong connection to the land and its people, including one in particular, Ronit, who would later become his wife. In the subsequent years, Yohanan established residency in Israel, and through the kind of spiritual awakening one can only find in Jerusalem, he identified with religious life and established a place and family in the Orthodox community. While this work was and continues to be deeply fulfilling, the call to continue to make music was one the composer could not ignore. A turning point arrived when he rekindled his passion for music, renting a piano and investing in high-quality audio equipment. His compositions started flowing once more, and it was during this resurgence that he crossed paths with the late Professor and composer Andre Hajdu. Encouraged by Hajdu, Yohanan embarked on the path of professional music production with the collaboration of esteemed musical arrangers to help the composer realize his artistic instincts. Cinnamon has developed strong relationships with talented arrangers, especially David Louis, Yonathan Goodman, and Israel Edelson, with whom Yohanan recorded his debut album,"Waking Up In Jerusalem,"featuring members of the Rishon leZion Symphony Orchestra.
Throughout his musical journey, Yohanan's enduring partner and friend has been Israel Edelson. Together, they recently co-created 'Piano and Strings,' an album that features seven pieces recorded with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, as well as ten solo piano compositions performed by the late Haim Tukachinsky. For nearly four decades, Yohanan Cinnamon has called Jerusalem his home.
"Here is a unique collection of light symphonic pieces and chamber music in which the melodic invention, a rich coloration and an evocative atmosphere are the common features. This is an interesting combination between a man gifted with a very fine sense of melody and three very talented arrangers, who together have succeeded in creating a musical canvas which is both enchanting and highly inspired."
- Professor Andre Hajdu (recipient of the Israel Prize)
While his primary vocation is teaching Talmud and Bible studies, his greatest love is family, including his beloved wife, children, and grandchildren. Nevertheless, music remains an enduring passion, a source of inspiration, and an indispensable part of Yohanan's identity. His extraordinary journey from a non-musical upbringing to becoming a composer and musician is a testament to the power of passion, imagination, and artistic exploration. Yohanan Cinnamon's life is a symphony of diverse experiences, and his compositions resonate with the depth and complexity of his own remarkable journey.