Hagai Shalom began studying horn at age ten and soon joined the Haifa Municipal Youth Orchestra. Between 2005 and 2007, he performed with the National Wind Orchestra and Young Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. After completing his military service as a member of the IDF Orchestra in 2010, he joined the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, where he performed for two seasons. Shalom earned a bachelor’s degree from the Dresden College of Music under Robert Langbein, then was accepted into the academic program of the Saxon State Orchestra Dresden under Zoltán Mácsai. Shalom’s teachers in Israel have included Michael Slatkin, Hezi Nir, and Ofer Waldman. He served as a member of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim from 2016 to 2018, and has been a member of the Israel Philharmonic since 2018.