Andre Hajdu, one of the leading lights of Israeli music, passed away in Israel, August 1, 2016. His funeral will be in Jerusalem. His music and his teaching affected generations of Israeli musicians and composers. Born in Hungary on March 5, 1932, Hajdu’s education started in Budapest. He studied with well known musicians, including Zoltan Kodaly for ethnomusicology. Hajdu grew up under the oppressive Soviet occupation and Communist regimes in Hungary. He escaped during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 to France. It was there he was able to study with some of the most renowned composers in the world, such as Darius Milhaud and Olivier Messiaen. He was also able to experience freedom of religion and follow his Jewish heritage. In 1966, with the encouragement of Israel Adler, Hajdu visited and settled in Jerusalem, Israel. Hajdu found work in Tel Aviv first at the Music Academy and then also at Bar Ilan University. It was at Bar Ilan he founded a composition department. Hajdu’s output of musical composition was wide and varied, including works for solo voices, piano and chamber works as well as larger works for chorus and for orchestra. In 1997, he was awarded the Israel Prize. Ronit Seter has said of Hajdu: [He] “was one of the teachers who drew their fingerprint in four generations of musicians and composers: Betty Olivero, Moshe Zorman, Jan Radzinsky and composers of many generations”