Born in Israel, Ohad Ben-Ari performed with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of twelve. At 13, he began his studies at Tel Aviv University. There he studied piano and composition, later also orchestration and conducting. As a pianist, Ben-Ari won several prizes at international competitions such as the ARD Competition and the Arthur Rubinstein Competition, after which he received invitations from outstanding orchestras and ensembles around the world.
In 1996, Ben-Ari moved to the USA to further his career as a music producer in the field of popular music. He has worked with Grammy winners such as Kanye West and Wyclef Jean, appeared on nationally televised shows, and recorded records that have demonstrated his wide stylistic range.
Ohad Ben-Ari has lived with his family in Berlin since 2010, where he works as a pianist, conductor and composer. He frequently performs as a duo partner with Guy Braunstein, Noah Balgley-Bendix, Alban Gerhardt, Avi Avital and mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená.
Between 2011-16, he co-directed the Rolandseck Festival with Guy Braunstein. Today, Ben-Ari is the artistic director of the cross-genre ID Festival, which he launched in 2015 at the Radialsystem in Berlin with the support of the German Bundestag. In the same year, Ben-Ari was invited by Sir Simon Rattle for the first time as a soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic.
Ben-Ari's original works and transcriptions are performed worldwide. Together with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Ben-Ari's first symphonic work, Tips, premiered in early 2013. His Marimba Concerto was premiered in Tokyo in 2014. In 2015, Violins of Hope was commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic. Ben-Ari's Requiem for choir, organ and large chamber ensemble, premiered in Hamburg in 2018. His most recent composition, "Paterson" - a song cycle for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, will have its premiere next season with the Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt.