Gil Aldema was born in the Borokhov neighborhood (today Giv'atayim), Israel. As a child, he played piano and violin and studied harmony under composer Paul Ben-Haim. In 1947, while serving in the Palmach, he composed his first song to the words of Haim Hefer ('The Height of Fun'). Afterwards, he studied Conducting and Composition at the Jerusalem Academy of Music, and continued his studies at Mannes College of Music, New York. During the 1950's Aldema served as a teacher and a music counselor in the village, Hadassim. From the 1960's to the 1980's he was a musical editor for the Kol-Yisra'el radio station, and in 2004 he received the Israel Prize for Hebrew folksong. Aldema has composed and written choir arrangements of numerous Hebrew folksongs, which have been widely used by many choirs and singing troupes in Israel.
Source: Encyclopedia Judaica.