Composer & Conductor Short Biography
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Konstantia Gourzi – Composer & Conductor Short Biography Konstantia Gourzi can frequently be seen in the double role of composer and conductor of a concert. Konstantia Gourzi’s artistic and musical wish is to make connections – as a composer, between traditional and contemporary sound worlds; as a conductor with new conceptual emphases. Her work as a composer includes opera, film music, works for musical theatre, orchestra, numerous solo pieces, and chamber music. She has been commissioned by the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, the hr-Sinfonieorchester, Bayerischer Rundfunk, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Lucerne Festival, the Heath, Minguet and Signum Quartet, the Archiepiscopal Bishopric Munich-Freising and the ARD Music Competition. Always searching for new performance concepts for contemporary music, Konstantia Gourzi has initiated concert series, and has also followed the example of her mentor Claudio Abbado and founded various ensembles such as attacca berlin, ensemble echo, ensemble oktopus and opus21musikplus. Supporting young musicians is also very important to her, and her former students can be found in all important European contemporary music ensembles. Konstantia Gourzi’s recordings on NEOS, Sony and ECM, as composer and as a conductor, enjoy international acclaim. Konstantia Gourzi was born in 1962 in Athens, Greece. She lives in Munich and has been Professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater since 2002. The 2018-19 season begins with two highlights: a world premiere at the ARD Music Competition and the premiere of a commissioned work by the Archiepiscopal Bishopric Munich-Freising in Rome. 20. August 2018 Konstantia Gourzi – Composer & Conductor Biography Konstantia Gourzi can frequently be seen in the double role of composer and conductor of a concert. Konstantia Gourzi’s artistic and musical wish is to make connections – as a composer, between traditional and contemporary sound worlds; as a conductor with new conceptual emphases or music in combination with other art forms. Her work as a composer includes opera, film music, works for musical theatre, orchestra, numerous solo pieces, and chamber music. A long list of commissions include from the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, the hr-Sinfonieorchester, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Ensemble Musica Nova Israel, the Athens State Orchestra, the Kasseler Musiktage, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Lucerne Festival, Archiepiscopal Bishopric Munich-Freising, the Patrimonio Nacional in Spain and the ARD Music Competition. Close collaborations exist with Nils Mönkemeyer, William Youn, François Leleux, Claudio Estay, Simone Rubino, and the Heath, Minguet und Signum Quartets. She also works frequently with different visual artists. Konstantia Gourzi has also been featured extensively in radio, television and livestream broadcasts. Her wide-ranging discography enjoyed widespread international acclaim and has been released on NEOS, NAXOS, SONY Classical and ECM. Always searching for new performance concepts for contemporary music, Konstantia Gourzi has initiated concert series, and has also followed the example of her mentor Claudio Abbado and founded various ensembles. The formation of the ensemble attacca berlin during her studies lead to her teaching post at the Hochschule Hanns Eisler, where she also founded the ensemble echo. In 2002 she was made Professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich, and there also soon formed the ensemble oktopus für musik der moderne. In 2007, she created the ensemble and network opus21musikplus, with the aim of expanding new music over generic borders, with other art forms and musical directions. Supporting young musicians is also very important to her, and her former students can be found in all important European contemporary music ensembles. Konstantia Gourzi was born in 1962 in Athens, Greece, and studied piano, composition and conducting in her hometown and from 1988 until 2002 in Berlin. She lives and works in Munich, and in Aegina in Greece. In the 2017-18 season, she was Artist in Residence at the International Artist House Villa Concordia in Bamberg and at the Festival Aktuelle Musik in Nuremberg. The 2018-19 season begins not only with the concert series of her ensembles, but with two highlights: a world premiere at the ARD Music Competition and the premiere of a commissioned work by the Archiepiscopal Bishopric Munich-Freising in Rome. 20. August 2018 .