The son of an Israeli film composer, Asaf Ophir was exposed to many styles of music from an early age: His father’s love for jazz, the Jewish music of his heritage, a classical upbringing, and the Middle Eastern backdrop of his childhood. From the very beginning, he was drawn to many different sources and genres, as well as to different musical instruments.
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Ophir began his professional career in Israeli musicals while studying at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and later at the Jerusalem Academy. Arriving in the United States in 2014, he began to perform in musicals around the Bay Area such as the award winning Love Sick in 2017, and The People in the Picture in 2018. Finding a home away from home, Ophir can most often be seen in world music projects on Jewish, Arabic, and Balkan stages.
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Ophir has performed on such distinguished stages as Habima, HaCameri, and Jerusalem Theaters in Israel, as well as the Paramount Theater, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Great American Concert Hall, Freight and Salvage, Brava Theater, and others. Throughout his career he has shared the stage with artists such as Miri Mesika, Avi Kushnir, Galit Giat, David De’or, Rana Farhan, and Barbara Streisand.
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The San Francisco Chronicle writes: "Asaf Ophir gives the clarinet the timbre of a trumpet, then a violin, then a raspy scream… the instrument’s wail almost becomes too plaintive and beautiful to bear.”