Karola Obermueller (born 21 March 1977,
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
) is a German composer and teacher.
Life
Obermueller began her training at the
Akademie für Tonkunst
A German Akademie is a school or college, trade school or another educational institution. The word Akademie (unlike the words Gymnasium or Universität) is not protected by law and any school or college may choose to call itself Akademie. A Somm ...
in Darmstadt. She studied composition with of the Meistersinger-Konservatorium and the
Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg
The Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg (formerly ''Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg-Augsburg'') is a music conservatoire based in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. The conservatoire has a secondary building in Augsburg.
The Hochschule
The Hochschule für ...
,
Theo Brandmüller
Theo Brandmüller (* 2 February 1948 in Mainz; † 26 November 2012 in Saarbrücken) was a German composer of Contemporary Music, organist and university teacher.Hochschule für Musik Saar
The Hochschule für Musik Saar is a conservatory of music in Saarbrücken, Germany and dates back to 1947. From 1994 until 2002, it was named ''Hochschule des Saarlandes für Musik und Theater'' (University of Music and Drama Saarbrücken). Since ...
, and
Adriana Hölszky
Adriana Hölszky (born 30 June 1953) is a Romanian-born German music educator, composer and pianist who has been living in Germany since 1976.
Biography
Hölszky was born in Bucharest. In the years 1959-1969 she studied piano with Olga Rosca-Be ...
of the
Mozarteum Salzburg
Mozarteum University Salzburg ( German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Mo ...
. In 2010, she completed a doctorate at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, where she studied with Mario Davidovsky, Bernard Rands, Julian Anderson, Chaya Czernowin, Magnus Lindberg, and Harrison Birtwistle. She has taught at
Wellesley College
Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...
and the Young Composers Program at the
Cleveland Institute of Music
The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1920 by Ernest Bloch, it enrolls 325 students in the conservatory and approximately 1,500 students in the preparatory and continuing educatio ...
. Since 2010, Obermueller has been one of the directors of the composition program at the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
.
A portrait CD of hers was released as part of the WERGO Contemporary Music Edition by the German Music Council.
She has received the Darmstädter Musikpreis
and the Bayerischer Jugendpreis des Indien-Instituts München, as well as awards and commissions from the Fromm Foundation commission, the ASCAP Morton Gould Awards, and the Bohemians New York Musicians Club. She did a residency at the
Deutsches Studienzentrum in Venedig.
Obermueller frequently collaborates with her husband, American composer,
Peter Gilbert. In addition to two operas, they have created an interactive installation piece called ''An Overlapping of Spaces'', which combined a series of hanging surround-sound speaker arrays with unique iPod-based audience-interactivity. The work was featured as a centerpiece of the Perceiving Space in Art Gallery at the
Davis Museum and Cultural Center between 2008 and 2010, which had previously chosen it as an Artwork of the Month. Their most recent collaboration, ''Listening to Mountains'', was presented in Germany and Australia.
Obermueller and Gilbert teach together at the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
and have two children.
Operas
Obermueller's first opera, ''Dunkelrot'' ("Dark Red"), was written for the opera in Nürnberg after an original libretto by Gabriele Strassmann. The opera tells the tale of an African woman seeking
asylum in Germany
The right of asylum for victims of political persecution is a basic right stipulated in the Constitution of Germany. In a wider sense, the right of asylum recognises the definition of ' refugee' as established in the 1951 Refugee Convention and ...
who gets lost in the
German immigration system. Her second opera, ''Helges Leben'' ("Helge's Life"), was an adaptation of the eponymous play by
Sibylle Berg
Sibylle Berg (born 2 June 1962) is a Swiss contemporary author and playwright. They write novels, essays, short fiction, plays, radio plays, and columns. Their 15 books have been translated into 30 languages. They have won numerous awards, inclu ...
, and was written with composer Mark Moebius. In 2009, the opera had its well-received premiere by the Theater Bielefeld, in cooperation with the and the .
Gilbert and Obermueller have collaborated on two operas. Their multi-media, electronic
chamber opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas such as Pergoles ...
, ''Dreimaldrei gleich unendlich'' ("Three times three equals eternity"), has been performed in Germany and the United States, including a premiere as part of the Musik der Jahrhunderte festival in Stuttgart. A prize-winner at the
National Opera Association
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
awards, their opera was included in an exhibition celebrating the 20th anniversary of the
Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe
The ZKM , Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (until March 2016: ZKM Center for Art and Media Technology), a cultural institution, was founded in 1989. and since 1997 is located in a listed industrial building in Karlsruhe, Germany, a former muni ...
. They also worked together on ''Robert S.'', an opera performed with
Theater Bonn
Theater Bonn (also known as the Stadttheater Bonn) is the municipal theatre company of Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is an organization that produces operas, musicals, ballets, plays, and concerts. It operates several performance venu ...
, with the composers
Georg Katzer
Georg Katzer (; 10 January 1935 – 7 May 2019) was a German composer and teacher. The last master student of Hanns Eisler, he composed music in many genres, including works for the stage. Katzer was one of the pioneers of electronic new music ...
, Annette Schlünz, Peter Gilbert, and Sergej Newski. The complete opera is published by Ricordi.
Works
Stage works
*Robert S. (2011), opera for 4 singers, and chamber orchestra
*Helges Leben (2008/09)
*dreimaldrei gleich unendlich (2009), opera for 4 singers, 2 actors, clarinet, cello, accordion, live electronics and live video
*Dunkelrot (Dark Red) (2005–2007), opera for 7 singers, actress, live electronics and chamber orchestra
*Protuberanzen II (2001/02) for trumpet, organ, violoncello, percussion and dancers
*Protuberanzen I (2001) for trumpet, organ, violoncello and dancers
*My name is Urlappi(1998/99), chamber opera for soprano, mezzo-soprano, violin, saxophone and percussion
Vocal works
*mass.distance.time (2010) for choir
*Untergegangen der Mond (2008) for countertenor/bass and ensemble
*in zwischen (in between / in the meantime) (2004) for soprano, recorder, 3 violas, 2 viola da gambas and harpsichord
*Einseitige Dialogue(one-sided dialogues) (2000–2002), three for mezzo-soprano and piano
*Three songs about love (1992–94) for mezzo-soprano, baritone, piano, marimbaphone and two violoncelli
*The Gold (1999) for mezzo-soprano and percussion
Orchestra works
*Glaube. Merke Rolle. (2011) Hommage à Mauricio Kagel for 10 instruments and voice
*Kohlenmonoxyd.Nachtstück (2006) for two sopranos, narrator, choir and nine instruments (flute, clarinet, horn, trombone, percussion, 2 violins, viola and violoncello)
*helical (2005/2006) for chamber orchestra
*Schalen (peels / shells) (2005) for orchestra
*volatile (2003/2004/2005) for chamber orchestra
*Im Vorraum (In the anteroom) (2000–2002) for orchestra
Chamber music
*Las cosas, unas conducen an otras (2002/08) for two flutes
*Für Wilfried (2008) for horn solo, collaborative composition with Peter Gilbert
*...silbern (2008) for bass flute solo
*...und Licht sich breitet aufs Meer... (2008) Sapphic Stanzas for soprano saxophone and live electronics
*reflejos distantes (2006) for bass flute, bass clarinet, violin and violoncello
*Red Lake Fields 2 (2002/2006) for flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello and percussion
*will o' wisp (2006) for recorder, flute, bass-koto and accordion
*WindKaskaden (2006) for clarinet and accordion
*gegen.wind.stärken 1 (2005/2006) for great bass recorder and electronics
*Nichts Fettes nichts Süßes. (Nothing Fat nothing Sweet.) (2001/2005) – in memoriam Clara & Robert Schumann – for clarinet, alto saxophone, piano and percussion
*xs (2005) for string quartet
*Knotenpunkte (points of knotting) (2005) for alto flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet
*les sables mouvants(quicksand / drifting sand) (2004) for clarinet, piano, violin and violoncello
*shraeng (2004) for two electric guitars, dedicated to the guitar duo
*but one adagio smile still lingers (2004) in memoriam Rose Ausländer for violoncello solo
*Metamorphosen (metamorphoses) (since 2003) for oboe solo
*Kalpa><Pralaya (2002) for bansuri, sitar, mridangam and orchestra
*Red Lake Fields (2001/02) for flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello and piano
*Protuberanzen II (2001/02) for trumpet, organ, violoncello, percussion and dancers
*duo variabile I (2001/02) for flute and recorder
*Protuberanzen I (2001) for trumpet, organ, violoncello and dancers
*the great secret lies (2001) for pipa, kayagum and marimbaphone
*....incalzando....(1999-01) cor anglais and organ
*Music for recorder, harp and harpsichord (1999/00)
*Five scraps of fury(1995–98) for piano solo
*String Quintet 1997 (1996–98) for two violins, viola, violoncello and double-bass
CDs
* 2018 Edition Zeitgenössische Musik
* 2020 Voices of the Pearl, Vol. 3
* 2020 Music for English Horn Alone
Video
Trailer for Dreimaldrei Gleich UnendlichDW-TVListening to Mountains demo
Books
*Charlotte Martin: ''…denn Kunst meint ja immer ein Sich-Preisgeben''. Drei Portraits. Darmstadt 2006.
Sources
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obermueller, Karola
1977 births
20th-century classical composers
21st-century American composers
21st-century classical composers
American women classical composers
American classical composers
German women classical composers
Harvard University alumni
Hochschule für Musik Saar alumni
Living people
University of New Mexico faculty
20th-century German composers
20th-century American women musicians
20th-century American composers
21st-century German composers
21st-century American women musicians
German classical composers
20th-century women composers
21st-century women composers
American women academics
20th-century German women
21st-century German women