Yaron Deutsch was born in Tel Aviv in 1978, is a guitarist and the artistic director of Ensemble Nikel. At age eighteen, he founded and led his first group – Ofek III – a fusion trio, playing his own compositions. In 1999, he enrolled at the Rubin Academy for Music and Dance in Jerusalem and studied under the instruction of guitarists Steve Paskof and Yossi Levi. In 2006, he founded the Tel Aviv based Ensemble for Contemporary Music – Ensemble Nikel together with saxophonist Gan Lev. He has frequently collaborated with both established and young composers, giving world premiere performances to numerous works