Composer
Yoav Gal focuses on the marriage of music and image as a central theme
in his growing list of works. He employs a variety of media in his creations,
and whether they involve video, animation, or the stage, he generally describes
them as New Opera.
His recent works include: the opera “The Dwarf”, which premiered
at the Vertical Player Repertory (Brooklyn, NY) in January 2003, and was featured
in the NY Times (“Never Say Die in Indie Opera”, Anne Midgette, 1/4/2003); “Ir
shel Shalom”, a recent commission from percussionist David Cossin of Bang
on a Can for vibraphone and pre-recorded voice; “I am the Tuba”,
premiered at MASS Moca in July 2002 as part of a residency at Bang on a Can Summer
Institute of Music; the opera “Mao Zedong — Jealous Son”, premiered
at La MaMa ETC in 1999 and compared to “Einstein On The Beach” and “The
Death of Klinghoffer” by the New York Press; “Bereshit”, a
Golden Fleece LTD commission for three female voices and three dancers, premiered
in March 2001 in New York. Scenes from his video - opera "Mosheh" have
been performed around NYC at Galapagos, Makor and, coming up, in Merkin Concert
Hall as part of ZOOM: Emerging Composers concert. An on-going collaboration with
media artist Yael Kanarek led to the creation of “Music for World of Awe”,
featured at the 71st Whitney Biennial in New York, as well as “World of
Awe: Portal”, a commission from Turbulence.org.
Gal’s fledgling cable show “videOpera” is aired on Brooklyn
Community Access TV, and a netcast of the work of the Franklin Furnace inaugural
season at Pseudo Program is documented on the CD-ROM "The History of the
Future".
A new opera, “Venus in Furs”, is planned for the
Golden Fleece 2004
season.
Gal is a recipient of grants from the American Music Center, Harvestworks, Franklin
Furnace, and BCAT/Brooklyn - Rotunda Gallery.
A native of Israel, Gal has been living in New York since 1988.
He holds a BA in composition from the Manhattan School of Music and an MA from
Queens College,
a student of David Noon, Nils Vigeland and Thea Musgrave. He also studied visual
art in Israel.
Gal’s music can be heard on the following internet sites:
www.worldofawe.net/music and www.turbulence.org/Works/yael