Na'ama Zisser () is a London-based composer. Her work is visually driven and often collaborative with other art forms, with a focus on opera, contemporary dance, moving image, installations, staged performances, and instrumental music. Her practice involves the use of both electronic and acoustic mediums. Her music is concerned with intonation, textures, intimacy, and nostalgia, and has been described as ‘free of cliches’ (

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

) and ‘hauntingly melodic’ (

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...

). She is the first to introduce cantorial music into contemporary

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

. She is currently based in London.

Early life and education

Zisser was raised in an

ultra-orthodox Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

background. The fourth of five siblings, she began her classical music education at the age of six, playing piano. She went on to study composition at the

Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (), is a school for the music and the performing arts in Jerusalem. It is located on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. History The Jerusalem Conservatory of Music was founded in ...

, before moving to London to study at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

with

Mark-Anthony Turnage Mark-Anthony Turnage (born 10 June 1960) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. Life and career Mark-Anthony Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex on 10 June 1960. Turnage was the eldest of three children. His parents were lov ...

where she won the Hurlston & Cobbett Prize. She completed her doctorate at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

Musical career

Between 2015 and 2018, Na'ama Zisser was the doctoral composer in residence at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

and made her debut with the opera company with ''Mamzer/Bastard'' in the 2018 season. The newly commissioned opera was the first to feature and reference Orthodox-Jewish Cantorial music with a role written for a

Cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

. Directed by Jay Scheib and conducted by

Jessica Cottis Jessica Cottis (born 13 December 1979) is an Australian-British conductor. Since 2011 she has been artistic director and chief conductor of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. Early life Cottis was born at RAAF Base East Sale in Victoria, Austr ...

, the opera premiered at the

Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "the most beautiful theat ...

to sold-out shows. Na’ama Zisser has been commissioned by and worked with such ensembles and organisations as:

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

London Contemporary Orchestra The London Contemporary Orchestra (LCO), founded in 2008 by Hugh Brunt and Robert Ames, is an ensemble of young musicians whose stated aim is "to explore and promote new music to an increasingly wide audience". LCO staged its inaugural season ...

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber music, chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert ...

Aurora Orchestra Aurora Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra, co-founded in 2004 by conductors Nicholas Collon and Robin Ticciati. The orchestra is based in London, where it is Resident Orchestra at Southbank Centre and Resident Ensemble at Kings Place. The ...

, CHROMA ensemble,

National Opera Studio The National Opera Studio in London, England was established in 1977 by the Arts Council of Great Britain, Arts Council as a link between the music colleges and the six main UK opera companies. It was resident at Morley College in Lambeth until ...

, Tête à Tête,

Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (Hebrew: התזמורת הסימפונית ירושלים, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Simfonit Yerushalayim'') is a major orchestra of Israel. Since the 1980s, the JSO has been based in the Henry Crown Symphony Hall, part o ...

, Israeli Contemporary Players and Ujazdowski Centre for Contemporary Art. She has held residencies and fellowships with Sound & Music, East London Dance, Britten–Pears Artist Programme, Classical Next fellowship Rabbit Island Foundation & Rozsa Centre for Performing Arts, and LSO Soundhub residency, where she composed a piece for chamber ensemble, live visuals and karaoke singers. Her work has been supported by the

Arts Council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...

, Jerwood Arts and

PRS PRS or prs may refer to: Science and technology * Peripheral Reflex System, an implementation of autonomous peripheral operations in microcontrollers * Personal response system, in audience response * Phenotypic response surfaces, in medicine * P ...

, as well as broadcast on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

and online radio station NTS. Zisser's music has been performed internationally across Europe, America and Israel. In 2022, Zisser scored the first season of

BBC radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's new horror audio anthology, LUSUS, which starred

Ncuti Gatwa Mizero Ncuti Gatwa ( ; born 15 October 1992) is a Rwandan-Scottish actor. After a screen Breakthrough role, breakthrough portraying Eric Effiong in Sex Education (TV series), ''Sex Education'' (2019–2023), he rose to further prominence as the ...

Alistair Petrie Alistair Petrie (born 30 September 1970) is a British actor. He has starred in '' The Bank Job'' (2008), ''Cloud Atlas'' (2012), '' Rush'' (2013) and '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (2016). Petrie has also starred in the Channel 4 television s ...

and

Morfydd Clark Morfydd Clark (; born 17 March 1989) is a Welsh actress. She is best known for playing Galadriel in the Amazon Prime series '' The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'' (2022–present). She received a number of accolades for her performance in ...

Notable works

Chamber

* ''Drowned In C'' (2015) for chamber ensemble (commissioned by the London Sinfonietta) * ''Empty Orchestra'' (2015) for chamber ensemble, live visuals and karaoke singers (commissioned by London Symphony Orchestra Soundhub) * ''Kara-Oke II'' (2016) for chamber ensemble, live visuals and karaoke singers (commissioned by London Symphony Orchestra Soundhub)

Orchestra

* ''Island Mantras'' (2019) for symphonic orchestra (commissioned by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra) ' * ''Trismus'' (2022) for chamber orchestra (commissioned by the Israel contemporary Players)

Opera

*''Sandman'' (2012) (Guildhall School of Music and Drama) *''Black Sand'' (2013) (Tete a Tete and Grimeborn festivals) *''The last seed'' (2016) for six countertenors and chamber ensemble (commissioned by Tete a Tete) *''Mamzer/Bastard'' (2018) (commissioned by the Royal Opera House)

Vocal

* ''Lovesick'' (2018) for baritone and piano quartet (commissioned by YIVO) * ''SCRUM'' (2018) for solo Baritone and piano (commissioned by the National Opera Studio) * ''Beloved visitors'' (2020) for solo Baritone and piano quartet (commissioned by Manchester Jewish Museaum)

Solo

* ''No Hay Banda'' (2017) for solo guitar (commissioned by the International Guitar Foundation)

Other

* ''Anchorage'' (2021) - chamber ensemble composition for Contemporary Dance (choreographer: Yoshito Sakuraba, Abarukas Dance) (commissioned by the Rozsa Centre and Rabbit Island Foundation) * ''What Will Survive of Us'' (2020) - six channel surround-sound installation 5.1 (Artist: Ursula Mayer) (commissioned by Ujazdowski Centre for Contemporary Art) * ''Lusus'' (2022) - music for the audio horror anthology series (commissioned by BBC radio 4)

References

External links

Artist's Soundcloud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zisser, Na'ama Israeli opera composers Israeli women composers Israeli women classical composers Year of birth missing (living people) Israeli classical pianists Israeli women classical pianists Living people Women opera composers Alumni of the Royal College of Music