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Philadelphia Orchestra in Israel: Zahav’s Michael Solomonov serves patrons ‘Dinner in the Desert’ as a capstone experience

End of tour activities also included a a chamber-music concert by Philadelphia Musicians in the town of Netivot and a visit to a music school in Lod.

Zahav chef Michael Solomonov at a cooking demo during his "Dinner in the Desert"
Zahav chef Michael Solomonov at a cooking demo during his "Dinner in the Desert" Read morePhoto by My Israel Photos

>>READ MORE: On a diplomatic mission — and to woo patrons — Philadelphia Orchestra will go to Israel

A constantly-in-motion presence, Solomonov talked of "our wonderful day together" and used the word epic to described the undertaking of creating the dinner

>>READ MORE: Here's our coverage of the Haifa concert, with Nezet-Seguin conducting and Grimaud playing the Brahms

Finally, on Thursday, a small contingent of Philadelphia musicians went to the Yitzhak Navon Music School for the Gifted and Excellent in Lod to play chamber pieces.

There, principal Meny Matalon told them how much the orchestra's Tuesday concert in Jerusalem had meant to students.

The U.S. State Department had donated roughly 1,000 tickets to schoolchildren for the Jerusalem performance, and 150 of those went to Lod students, ages 6 to 18, plus their parents. "They didn't know what to expect," said Matalon, "but when they came in the next day, they were 50 centimeters above the ground."

The children "were talking about specific instruments that we don't have in our band, like bassoon and oboe," the principal said. "They wanted to know, `What is that sound?' "

David Patrick Stearns' coverage of the Philadelphia Orchestra on Tour is made possible by a partnership between the Philadelphia Inquirer and WRTI 90.1.