In a globalized world, composers are negotiating their identities in relation to both their cultural origins and broader, global contexts. Their music serves as a powerful medium for expressing and exploring these identities. By understanding and embracing the diversity of musical influences and backgrounds, societies can foster a rich and inclusive cultural landscape.

We came together at the Center for Jewish History to hear from four world-renowned composers, Craig Urquhart, Sergei Newsky, Konstantia Gourzi, and Tamar Muskal from across the Atlantic as they discussed their identity in our globalized world and presented samples of their music. Moderated by pianist and concert curator Sophia Zhou. Curated and co-moderated by sculptor and artist Alexander Polzin. With music provided by the Juilliard School.

Event Photos: Sarah Blesener

The event is organized in collaboration with the Leo Baeck Institute New York and generously sponsored by The Halle Foundation (Atlanta) and the Friends of Freiburg.

Concert:
Apollon- piano trio by Konstantia Gourzi
Argaman - piano trio by Tamar Muskal
Klavierquartett - piano quartet by Sergei Newsky
Lamentation song solo piano Craig Urquhart

Biographies

Craig Urquhart is a pianist and composer, whose passion for music began when he first saw Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts on television. After looking up to the music legend for years, he had the great fortune of meeting the Maestro in person and eventually took a position as his assistant.

Craig’s compositions are carefully constructed to deliver a rich experience to the listener. Claiming a space completely separate from the New Age genre, the classically trained composer and performer delivers fine-tuned elegance crafted with minute attention to every detail. In the words of the late Bernstein himself, Craig’s music “has a deceptive simplicity and honesty that is rarely to be heard in contemporary song-writing.” Craig has recently completed his 13th album of solo piano music Renewal. Craig resides in Berlin, Germany but travels regularly for performances across the world.

Sergei Nevsky was born in Moscow and attended college there at the Tchaikovsky State Conservatory. He then studied composition with Jörg Herchet (Dresden University of Music) and Friedrich Goldmann (Berlin University of the Arts) as well as music theory and music pedagogy with Hartmut Fladt (Berlin University of the Arts).

He has received commissions from the Stuttgart State Opera, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Ruhrtriennale, SWR Symphony Orchestra, RSO Stuttgart, as well as Klangforum Wien, Collegium Novum Zürich, Musik der Jahrhunderte, Perm Opera, among others.

Sergey has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Berlin Art Prize in 2014 and 1st prize in the 2006 composition competition of the state capital Stuttgart for the piece "Fluss" (2005 version). He has received scholarships from the Villa Aurora, the German Academy Casa Baldi, the Cité Internationale des Arts Paris, the Berlin Senate and the Academy of Arts Berlin, the Villa Serpentara, the Wilfried Steinbrenner Foundation and the Künstlerhof Schreyahn. Since 2022 he is a member of the Saxon Academy of Arts Dresden. Sergey Nevsky lives in Berlin.

Konstantia Gourzi, “Opus Klassik” award-winner as a Composer of the Year in 2023, has enriched contemporary music in a unique way for more than 30 years as a composer, conductor and university professor with her world-exploring sound cosmos and authentic language. Her compositional work includes works for orchestra, chamber ensemble and solo pieces as well as music for music theater and film music. Gourzi repeatedly engages with social challenges and timeless natural themes: she feels an inner urge to transform these themes through the unique energy of music.

Konstantia Gourzi studied piano, composition and conducting in her home city of Athens and at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK). Since 1991, Konstantia Gourzi has founded and directed various ensembles and she taught at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin and has held a professorship for ensemble conducting at the Academy of Music and Theater in Munich since 2002. Her clients include the BBC, the Bavarian State Opera, the Venice Biennale, the Grafenegg Festival, the Berlin State Opera, the Tonkünstler Orchestra, the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Bachchor Salzburg and the Lucerne Festival.

Tamar Muskal is a composer with a strong interest for incorporating interactive art into her composition. From 2002-2005 Muskal was Composer-in-Residence of the education division with the Westchester Philharmonic. In that capacity she wrote pieces for narrator and orchestra based on poems and drawings by kids from Westchester schools. Muskal is also active as a film composer. She writes music for historic black and white silent films and documentaries. Her music is featured in DVD collections of historic films by women, including The Sewer, La Glu, and Falling Leaves, released by Kino Classics.

A recipient of various awards and grants, Muskal has been honored with the Charles Ives Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation, and four awards from Yale School of Music, among others; and grants from numerous organizations including the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, Opera America, Jerome Foundation, Meet the Composer, New Music USA, ASCAP and the American Composers Forum.

Sophia Zhou is a New-York-based pianist and concert curator who has been performing as a soloist and chamber musician internationally in Carnegie Weil Concert Hall and the National Sawdust in New York City, Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C., the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, National Library of Catalonia, Juventudes Musicales in Sevilla, Shanghai Concert Hall, to name a few. As the winner of the V BPA International Piano Award of Barcelona, Ms. Zhou was engaged for solo recitals tours across Spain and received critical acclaim.  As an avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with members of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera House, HK Philharmonic Orchestra and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, as well as faculty members of the Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music and Manhattan School of Music.

Born in Shanghai, China, Sophia was offered a full scholarship by Oberlin College and graduated with Bachelor degrees in piano performance and German literature. She was the first student from mainland China to be admitted into Oberlin's highly competitive double-degree program.  She continued her piano studies with Jan Jiracek von Arnim in the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna as well as musicology with Dr. Morten Solvic, renowned Mahler Scholar and Chair of the Mahler Society. She obtained a Master of Music degree from Mannes College of Music in New York City, studying with Dr. Thomas Sauer. In 2020, Zhou was appointed as the Director of Chamber Music at The Stissing Center in New York. She has curated and performed in the inaugural season in the midst of pandemic, and received critical claims.

Photo: Nina Subin

Omar El-Okdah has a versatile professional background with extensive experience in political affairs and international relations. Holding an M.A. in both Performance from the Royal Academy of Music and Political Science with a specialization in International Relations from Columbia University, and a B.A. in History with First Class Honours from the University of Oxford, El-Okdah has proven his commitment to both arts and academia. With a notable position as the Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations Office of the Special Envoy for Syria, he played a pivotal role in analyzing political developments in Syria, offering policy advice, and contributing to the mediation effort. Additionally, his role as a Non-Resident Adviser and Senior Policy Analyst at the International Peace Institute underscores his expertise in Middle Eastern affairs and multilateral diplomacy. El-Okdah's extensive performance experience, including shows at National Opera of America - New York, Pembroke Hall - Oxford, and Groznjan Castle - Croatia, reflects his passion for music and the arts. His achievements include awards such as the Kirk H. Greene Prize for Best Thesis in Modern History, as well as participation in prestigious festivals and programs.

Born in East Berlin in 1973, Alexander Polzin originally trained as a stonemason. He enjoys an international career as a sculptor, painter, stage designer, and opera director. In addition, he develops unique collaborations with writers, composers, musicians, choreographers, and scholars from all over the world. Polzin’s sculptures and paintings can be seen today in public spaces across the world. For example, his sculpture The Couple, for the foyer of the Opéra National de Paris, Bastille, Dante Heads at Teatro Real in Madrid, and The Couple II for La Monnaie/De Mund Royal Opera House in Brussels. In May 2016, a memorial sculpture to Paul Celan was unveiled by the mayor of Paris in the Anne Frank Garden. Major exhibitions of his work have been presented at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, Budapest, Bucharest, Naples, Berlin’s Institute of Advanced Studies, Bard College in New York, Einstein Forum Potsdam, San Francisco International Arts Festival, Teatro Real - Madrid, NCPA Beijing, Salzburg Easter Festival and Anna Akhmatova Museum in St. Petersburg.