Karola Obermueller facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Karola Obermueller
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| Karola Obermüller | |
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| Born | 21 March 1977 |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Composer and teacher |
Karola Obermueller (born March 21, 1977, in Darmstadt, Germany) is a talented German composer and teacher. She creates music for many different things, like operas, orchestras, and smaller groups of instruments. She also teaches music to students.
Contents
Karola Obermueller's Life and Music
Karola Obermueller started learning music at the Akademie für Tonkunst in Darmstadt. She studied how to compose music with several famous teachers. Later, she earned a special degree called a doctorate from Harvard University in the United States. This is a very high level of education in a specific subject.
She has taught music at colleges like Wellesley College. She also helped with a program for young composers at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Since 2010, Karola Obermueller has been a director of the music composition program at the University of New Mexico. This means she helps lead and guide students who want to become composers.
Karola Obermueller has won many awards for her music. She received the Darmstädter Musikpreis and the Bayerischer Jugendpreis. She also got awards and special requests to write music from groups like the Fromm Foundation and the ASCAP Morton Gould Awards. A CD featuring her music was released by the German Music Council.
She often works with her husband, Peter Gilbert, who is also a composer. Together, they have created two operas. They also made an amazing art project called An Overlapping of Spaces. This project used special speakers that surrounded the audience. People could even interact with the music using iPods! This artwork was shown at the Davis Museum and Cultural Center for two years. Their newest project, Listening to Mountains, has been performed in Germany and Australia.
Karola Obermueller and Peter Gilbert teach together at the University of New Mexico. They also have two children.
Operas by Karola Obermueller
Karola Obermueller has written several operas. An opera is a play where most of the words are sung, usually with an orchestra.
Her first opera was called Dunkelrot (which means "Dark Red"). It was performed in Nürnberg, Germany. The story was about an African woman who was looking for safety in Germany but faced challenges with the immigration system.
Her second opera was Helges Leben (meaning "Helge's Life"). She wrote this one with another composer, Mark Moebius. It was based on a play by Sibylle Berg. This opera was first performed in 2009 by the Theater Bielefeld and was very popular.
Karola Obermueller and her husband, Peter Gilbert, have worked together on two operas. One of them is a special kind of opera called a multi-media electronic chamber opera. It's called Dreimaldrei gleich unendlich (which means "Three times three equals eternity"). This opera has been performed in both Germany and the United States. It even won an award from the National Opera Association. It was also part of an art exhibition celebrating a big anniversary at the Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe.
They also worked on an opera called Robert S.. For this opera, they collaborated with other composers like Georg Katzer and Annette Schlünz.
Other Musical Works
Karola Obermueller has composed many different types of music. Here are some examples:
Stage Works
These are pieces meant to be performed on a stage, often with acting or dancing.
- Robert S. (2011) – an opera for singers and a small orchestra.
- Helges Leben (2008/09) – an opera.
- dreimaldrei gleich unendlich (2009) – an opera that uses singers, actors, instruments, and live electronics and video.
- Dunkelrot (Dark Red) (2005–2007) – an opera for singers, an actress, live electronics, and a chamber orchestra.
- My name is Urlappi (1998/99) – a smaller opera for singers and a few instruments.
Vocal Works
These are pieces written for voices, sometimes with instruments.
- mass.distance.time (2010) – for a choir.
- Untergegangen der Mond (2008) – for a singer and an ensemble (a small group of musicians).
- Einseitige Dialogue (one-sided dialogues) (2000–2002) – three pieces for a mezzo-soprano singer and piano.
Orchestra Works
These are pieces written for a full orchestra, which is a large group of musicians playing many different instruments.
- Glaube. Merke Rolle. (2011) – a tribute to another composer, for 10 instruments and a voice.
- Kohlenmonoxyd.Nachtstück (2006) – for two sopranos, a narrator, a choir, and nine instruments.
- helical (2005/2006) – for a chamber orchestra (a smaller orchestra).
- Schalen (peels / shells) (2005) – for a full orchestra.
Chamber Music
This is music written for a small group of instruments, where each instrument often has its own important part.
- Las cosas, unas conducen an otras (2002/08) – for two flutes.
- Für Wilfried (2008) – for a solo horn, created with Peter Gilbert.
- ...und Licht sich breitet aufs Meer... (2008) – for soprano saxophone and live electronics.
- reflejos distantes (2006) – for bass flute, bass clarinet, violin, and cello.
- xs (2005) – for a string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello).
- les sables mouvants (quicksand / drifting sand) (2004) – for clarinet, piano, violin, and cello.
- but one adagio smile still lingers (2004) – for solo cello.
Recordings and Videos
You can find Karola Obermueller's music on several CDs and watch videos of her work.
CDs
- 2018 Edition Zeitgenössische Musik
- 2020 Voices of the Pearl, Vol. 3
- 2020 Music for English Horn Alone
Video
- Trailer for Dreimaldrei Gleich Unendlich
- DW-TV
- Listening to Mountains demo
Books
- Charlotte Martin: …denn Kunst meint ja immer ein Sich-Preisgeben. Drei Portraits. Darmstadt 2006. ISBN: 978-3873902060
