Ettinger is descended from Romanian immigrants to Israel, as his father and grandmother are Holocaust survivors. He grew up in the Tel Aviv suburb of
Holon. Ettinger began taking piano lessons at the age of five. From 2002 to 2003, he was co-principal guest conductor of the
Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and conducted works such as Berlioz
Symphonie fantastique, Mahler's 4th Symphony and Mozart's
Requiem. Ettinger has served as chief conductor of the
Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion and music director of the
Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, with an initial tenure in the posts from 2005 to 2014, and a second, current tenure beginning in 2018. His current Stuttgart contract is through 2023. He made numerous opera guest performances from
Covent Garden in London to the
Vienna State Opera to the
Metropolitan Opera in New York. ==References==