About

Omer Barash‘s music often addresses questions of betweenness and identity, considering both their sounding and conceptual aspects. Much of his work stems from personal interpretation of Hebrew texts and traditions, and the soundscapes that surround him. This approach has led to projects that span ancient manuscripts and digital signal processing.

Barash’s past artistic engagements include collaborations with ensembles such as Modern (Germany, as part of ICCS young_professionals), Paramirabo (Canada), Reconsil (Austria), the Israeli Contemporary Players, and Meitar Ensemble (Israel). Conductors and soloists who have performed Barash’s music include Vimbayi Kaziboni, Pierre-André Valade, Léo Warynski, Keren Motseri, Benjamin Alunni, and Brittany Rae.

Omer Barash is the recipient of several prizes and awards, including the 1st prize of the 28th Salvatore Martirano Award (2024), 1st prize of the Ensemble Écoute Composition Competition (2024), the “Achievement of the Year” award of ACUM (Israel’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers, 2024), 3rd prize of the SunRiver International Composition Contest (2021), the Svoboda Memorial Prize from McGill University (2020), the 1st prize of the Klon Award for emerging composers from the Israel Composers League (2019), and merit grants from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation (2018-2025), among others.

Born in Israel in 1995, Barash received his first training in composition at the Israel Arts and Science Academy (IASA) high-school. He graduated from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance with the highest honours, where he was a member of the Tedarim Program of contemporary music, mentored by Meitar Ensemble. He continued his studies at McGill University, where he served as President of the McGill Association of Student Composers and achieved his master’s degree; at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw) where he got his postgraduate diploma in electroacoustic composition; and the Cursus de composition et d’informatique musicale at IRCAM, Paris. He is currently a doctoral fellow in Composition at Columbia University in the City of New York.

Among Omer Barash’s composition teachers are Marcos Balter at Columbia, Pierre Jodlowski and Claudia Jane Scroccaro at IRCAM, Karlheinz Essl at mdw, Philippe Leroux at McGill, and Yinam Leef and Ari Ben-Shabetai at the Jerusalem Academy. He also perticipated in masterclasses and seminars with Chaya Czernowin, Matthew Shlomowitz, Franck Bedrossian, Pierluigi Billone, Carola Bauckholt, Clara Iannotta, Georg Friedrich Haas, George Lewis, Farzia Fallah, and Kay Rhie.

Barash is also active as a computer music designer (RIM: réalisateur en informatique musicale), having supervised and operated the electronics in pieces by Leroux (Israeli premier of VoiREX), Saariaho, Nemtsov, and Kochavi, among others.

Some of his scores are available at BabelScores; the rest, upon direct request from the composer.

Last updated: October 2024

Header photo by Valentin Schaff, 2024