Twice every year, the village of Abu Gosh in the Jerusalem Hills a few kilometers west of Jerusalem, usually famed for its hummus restaurants, comes alive to the sound of music. The Abu Gosh Music Festival is one of Israel’s largest vocal music festivals taking place at the festivals of Sukkot (in Fall-time) and Shavuot (in Spring-time). The next Abu Gosh Vocal Music Festival takes place on May 25-27, 2012.

The Culture of Peace Festival is an annual event in Tel Aviv which features a large variety of cultural events focused around the central theme of peace including a large amount of world music – from North Africa, Ethiopia, Eastern Europe, Israel, and the Palestinians. The 2012 Culture of Peace Festival will take place between May 21 to 24 at the Tzavta Theater in Tel Aviv.

The Felicja Blumental International Music Festival is one of the highlights of Tel Aviv’s annual music scene. Taking place every May, the festival has hosted the debuts some of Israel’s brightest stars, as well as some of the Israel, and the world’s most established artists, ensembles, and orchestras. The festival takes place in one week, and in 2012, the Felicja Blumental International Music Festival will take place between May 14-19 at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

The Tel Aviv Jazz Festival is an annual event taking place ever February in the city. A highlight of the Tel Aviv events calendar, the Jazz Festival has a reputation as a magnet attracting jazz’s big names from across the world, who perform alongside home-grown talent, and the special performances which are produced especially for the festival. The 2012 Tel Aviv Jazz Festival will take place between February 21-24, at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque.

Pianist Richard Clayderman will be giving three concerts in Israel, in the cities of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa, in early March 2012. The trio of concerts will be the first in Israel for four years for the French musician whose career has spanned over four decades. Clayderman has sold over 100 million albums in 57 different countries, with 290 gold and 90 platinum discs, and his greatest hits include “Ballade pour Adeline”, “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”, as well as themes from West Side Story, Love Story and Schindler’s List, all of which will feature in his concerts in Israel. Clayderman will perform in Israel between March 1-3, 2012.

American jazz pianist McCoy Tyner and his Trio will be coming to Israel to give a concert at the Performing Arts Center in Petach Tikva, a city located near Tel Aviv, Israel. He will be performing on March 3, 2012 in his first concert in the country for fifteen years. McCoy Tyner is one of jazz’s living legends who was a central part in the legendary John Coltrane quartet.

Opera at Masada in the early summer has become an annual tradition in Israel. In 2012, the production Carmen will be coming to Masada between June 7-12, with five performances being planned for the tens of thousands of opera fans from Israel and around the world who will experience the amazing sounds of the Israeli Opera conducted by Daniel Oren, in the unique and magical setting of Masada in the depths of the Negev Desert in its majestic position aside the Dead Sea.

The Mediterranean Musical Dialogue held at the Jerusalem Music Center is a music festival and workshop series featuring music from the Mediterranean Basin, namely, of Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Iraqi, and Greek origins. Not only does this festival aim to enrich the Jerusalem cultural calendar with a varied selection of more unique concerts, it also acts as an intercultural dialogue, and promotes cultural and political goals attuned with coexistence and peace. The 2011 Mediterranean Musical Dialogue will take place between December 20-25, 2011 with the concerts taking place at the Jerusalem Music Center and YMCA. Once concert will also take place at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

The Red Sea Jazz Festival is a longstanding summer tradition in Israel’s window onto the Red Sea, Eilat. In 2011, for the first time, a Red Sea Winter Jazz Festival was held over a weekend in January due the the immense popularity and status of the summer festival as one of Israel’s premier cultural events. In January 2012, the festival will take place on the weekend of January 19-21 and it is set to include some amazing jazz from across the world with a great atmosphere, in a beautiful setting inside a hanger at the Eilat port.

This December will see weekends of free opera in Tel Aviv to celebrate the 27th season of the Israeli Opera. Every Friday opera will come to Rothschild Boulevard, and Saturday, to HaTachana, the Old Railway Station with the aim of bringing short operatic pieces to the mass population. The shows will feature colorful musical performances.