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 the ...

) is a German composer and teacher.

Life

Obermueller began her training at the Akademie für Tonkunst 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 Professor.Hochschule für Musik Saar, 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- ...

of the Mozarteum Salzburg. In 2010, she completed a doctorate at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, 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 university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

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. The school was founded in 1920 by a group of supporters led by Martha Bell Sanders and Mary Hutchens Smith, with Ernest Bloch serving as its first dire ...

. 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; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

. 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

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 repression, political persecution is a basic right stipulated in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, Constitution of Germany. In a wider sense, the right of asylum recognises the defini ...

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 German-Swiss contemporary author and playwright. They write novels, essays, short fiction, plays, radio plays, and columns. And they are as of 2024 a member of the European Parliament. Their 18 books have bee ...

, 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 music, chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas ...

, ''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 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 former munitions factory in Karlsruhe, Germany. The ZKM (Germa ...

. 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, 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 German classical composers 21st-century American composers 21st-century German 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 American women musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century German women composers 21st-century American women composers American women academics 21st-century German women