Israeli Spiritual Singers Rise to Fame
Gitit Shoval is one of Israel's singing treasures. She was first discovered at the pre-Eurovision contest of 1979 when she was just 13 years old. From that magical night, Shoval became an overnight success and spent the remainder of her teen years singing all over the country.
SHEEVA KANIM - PRE-EUROVISION COMPETITION
Israel and USA Tours
At the early age of 16, Gitit released her first solo album, “Taklit Rishon,” “First Record.” The young star has performed in countless venues and events, appearing in all the biggest television and radio shows of the time. She continued claiming the stages of the most prestigious and highly regarded festivals of the country. At the age of 18, Shoval began her service for the IDF as a solo performer. As part of her service, Gitit performed all over Israel to lift the spirits of the soldiers serving. Shoval was also sent to represent the IDF in a fundraising tour in the United States.
TAKLIT RISHON - YESH LI YEDIDIM
Al Tagid She’lo Amarti
Around the same time Gitit completed her army service, she met the person who later became her husband, musical producer and Berklee College of Music graduate, Ron Druyan. The pair began working on Gitit’s second album, “Al Tagid She’lo Amarti,” “Don’t Say I Didn’t Say So.”
During one of Shoval’s appearances in the legendary Israeli music festival, “Festival Arad,” Ron and Gitit were introduced to Mrs. Sarah Zeira, the wife of one of Israel’s most beloved and iconic composers, the late Mordechai Zeira. Together, the three came up with the idea to produce a show made up fully of Zeira’s pieces. In 1991, the production was ready. The show ran all over Israel and was a huge hit. Due to the incredible success of the concert, Shoval, Druyan and Mrs. Zeira decided to make the show into a record. In 1992 “Lila Lila,” “Night After Night” was released.
Invitation to International Music Festival in Romania
During the same time, Gitit was chosen to represent Israel in the International Music Festival of Bucharest, Romania. In 1993, Gitit Shoval released the album “Achshav Kvar Ken,” “Now I Do,” that featured a collection of original works. Some of the songs were written by Gitit and Ron, while others were written by some of Israel’s leading poets including Ehud Manor, Tzruya Lahav, David Avidan among others.
Cartoon Voice-Over Company Breakthrough
After the release of “Now I Do,” Shoval took a short break from music, opening her own production studios with husband, Ron. Tomitoot Productions instantly became one of the top studios in Israel, dealing mainly with cartoon voice-overs. In addition to her musical work, Gitit provided the Hebrew voices for many of the most iconic cartoon characters, including Smurfette from the Smurfs and Barbie from the Barbie direct-to-DVD movie series. In addition, the studios produced 4 platinum selling holiday albums in Hebrew, starring Gitit.
2001 marked Gitit’s return to music, releasing her album “Kufsa Ktana Shel Osher,” “A Little Box of Bliss.” The album featured original works, this time produced by the renowned Ilan Virtzberg. The first track of the CD, “Bli Lehash’eer Akevot,” “Without Leaving A Trace,” became very successful on the radio, reaching various charts.
Relocation to North America and “Autumn Leaves”
In 2003 Gitit and Ron relocated to North America along with their four children. This transition elongated the making of Shoval’s next project. The incredible talent went on to create an album dedicated to one of Israel’s greatest writers, Naomi Shemer. The vision behind this project was to create musical arrangements that matched the wit of Ms. Shemer’s lyrics. The right person for the job was Yossi Ben-Nun, the top musical theater composer, arranger and musical director in Israel, and also Gitit’s cousin. “Gitit Shoval Sings Naomi Shemer” arranged fully for symphonic orchestra, was released in 2005.
After taking a few years off, Shoval returned to her number one passion and love of music. In October 2018 Gitit released her very first EP in English, Autumn Leaves.
“Connected” Release
After completing a highly successful Kickstarter campaign in August 2019, Gitit is now recording Connected, a journey into Jewish Spiritual music. Joining Gitit on this project are her husband, Ron Druyan, and their daughter, Tutti Druyan.