Contact: Genepritsker@gmail.com
“...much of 21st century composition appears to be thinning in significance, but this might be about to change. Gene Pritsker is one of a very spare handful of composers effecting this change.”
- All About Jazz
"...audacious...multitalented."
- The New York Times
"dissolv[ing] the artificial boundaries between high brow, low brow, classical, popular musics and elevates the idea that if it's done well it is great music, regardless of the style or genre".
- The Music Connoisseur
"His expressive reach is so wide as to encompass everything from ethno/techno, rock/jazz fusion, classical opera and more, and it all seems to be effortlessly integrated within his anima and comes out through different facets of his persona. You could almost see him as a modern day renaissance man. "
- Classical Music Sentinel
"Pritsker has a natural ability to write music that is unselfconsciously original and absorbing in a way that resembles nobody else."
- Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review
It is, by now, an aphorism that “You never know what the composer Gene Pritsker will create next”
- Jazzdagama
Recent & Upcoming Performances:
2019
Oct.
10/10
Sound Liberation Performs at Settepani as part of the Ode To Harlem Series.
10/11
‘A 21st Century Reconstruction of J.S. Bach’ for bass trombone & Samplestra performed as part of 'A Trombone BAZAAR: Jordan Crimminger’s MM Recital' at Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall - Yale University
10/12
Cesare Papetti performs ‘Destined to Shed' for percussion and Sampestra at Madsen Recital Hall in Bringham Young University in Provo, Utah as part of the Occasional Noise Guest artist Concert
10/14
CompCord Ensemble premieres 'Happiness Unmoored' for violin, trumpet, bass clarinet, and guitar at William Paterson University, as part of the New Music Series.
10/19
Warren Nicholson performs ‘Snyeg’’ for solo guitar at the Great Lakes Guitar Society at Skaneateles Library in Skaneateles, New York
10/22
Warren Nicholson performs ‘Snyeg’’ for solo guitar at the Guelph Connections Concerts in Guelph. Ontario
10/26
Warren Nicholson performs 2 movements from ‘Refugee Blues’ for guitar and violin with Mike Schultz at Branford Public Library in Brantford Ontario
10/26
Premiere of ‘To You’ for cello and guitar with Dave Eggar & Chris Bruce as part of The Astronomy of Walt Whitman — a special pop-up edition of 'The Universe in Verse', curated and hosted by Maria Popova at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church on Governors Island, celebrating Whitman’s bicentennial.
10/31
Lynn Bechtold & Warren Nicholson premiere 'Refugee Blues' at 'Spooky Salon' as part of Composers Concordance Kostabi World Salon Concert series. Aso on the program will be Gene's 'Ghost Poems' on the poetry of Erik T. Johnson.
Nov.
11/2
Premiere of 'Fugue-Get-About-It’ for bass clarinet and piano by The Fleckl-Duo at HKB-Auditorium in Bern, Switzerland
11/3
‘Three Rags’ for solo piano will be performed by pianist R. Amirkhanova at the Festival of Contemporary Academic Art as part of the concert “Spectrum expansion”. At the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan in Kazan, Tatarstan.
11/8
Performance of 'Fugue-Get-About-It’ for bass clarinet and piano by The Fleckl-Duo at Ursulinensaal in Innsbruck, Austria
11/8
Performance of 'Happiness Unmoored' for violin, trumpet, bass clarinet, and guitar as part of CompCord Ensemble Salon 33 in Princeton NewJersey.
11/9
Performance of 'Fugue-Get-About-It’ for bass clarinet and piano by The Fleckl-Duo at Piano Lounge in Tagungshaus Wörgl in Wörgl, Austria
11/10
Performance of 'Fugue-Get-About-It’ for bass clarinet and piano by The Fleckl-Duo at Piano Lounge in Café Kreuzberg in Vienna, Austria
11/10
’The Man Who Loved Locks’ for narrator and chamber ensemble, based on a poem By Erik T. Johnson, premiered s part of Composers Concordance Estonian Connections concert at Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater at Symphony Space.
11/13
Warren Nicholson performs ‘Sneyg’ on TV in São Paulo, Brazil organized by SESC
11/15
Quart@art performs 'Seem To Bemoan Their Imprisonment' Ancienne Poste des Planches in Montreux, Switzerland
11/16
‘Zappa Ripped My Flesh’ project performed in Absam, Austria at Gemeindemuseum. Featuring Gene’s chamber music and his arrangements of Frank Zappa compositions.
1/17
Jordan Crimminger performs 2 movements from ‘A 21st Century Reconstruction Of J.S. Bach’ for bass trombone and Sampelstra at L’argot NYC. As part of the New Sound Series - ‘Electric Bach’.
11/19
‘Zappa Ripped My Flesh’ project performed at Cafe Museum in Passau, Germany. Featuring Gene’s chamber music and his arrangements of Frank Zappa compositions.
11/21
A concert of Gene’s chamber orchestra music at the Outreach Satellite Festival in Friedberg, Germany. Performed by the Friedberger Kammeorchester. Premiere of 'Three Towns for Two Trumpets' a concerto for 2 trumpets, jazz piano trio and chamber orch. As well as arrangements of music from films Gene has worked on including 'Babylon Berlin', 'Cloud Atlas' and 'Perfume, the Story of a Murderer’.
11/21
A concert of Gene’s Big Band music performed as part of The Outreach Satellite Festival in Wittelsbacher Schloss, Friedberg, Performed by the Uni Big band. Original music for big band includes: ‘Crumbs’, 'Roughin It’, 'Mereangeu Za Dhenge’, 'First & Last Love’, 'Transfigured Swing’, as well as arrangements of ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’, 'Chopin Waltz Op. 64’, and 'All Blues’
11/22
A concert featuring Gene’s concert band music performed as part of The Outreach Satellite Festival in Wittelsbacher Schloss, Friedberg, Germany. Compositions include ‘Singin', ‘Bach Blues’, and the premiere of 'Halfway Scenes’. Also on the concert Peter Oswald performs 'NYC III' for trumpet & piano.
11/22
‘Zappa Ripped My Flesh’ project performed as part of the The Outreach Satellite Festival in Wittelsbacher Schloss, Friedberg, Germany
11/23
Guitarist Vladimir Gapontsev performs ‘Snegh' and ‘Wounds’ at the Myaskovsky hall in Moscow conservatory as part of his ‘Guitar at the crossing of eras’ concert
11/24
Gene & The Trumpets at Augsburg University featuring Franz Hackl, Peter Oswald and others in a concert all about Gene's trumpet compositions. Including the premiere of 'Dances Shmances' for 4 trumpets.
11/25
A concert of Gene’s Big Band music at Augsburg University, in Augsburg Germany. Original music for big band includes: ‘Crumbs’, 'Roughin It’, 'Mereangeu Za Dhenge’, 'First & Last Love’, 'Transfigured Swing’, as well as arrangements of ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’, 'Chopin Waltz Op. 64’, and 'All Blues’. Also on the program is music from Gene’s Berlin Inspired project, featuring his ‘Berlin Suite’ and music he arranged for the Babylon Berlin TV show.
11/29
CompCord Ensemble performance as part of Craig Harris’s Harlem Jazz Series
at Greater Calvary Baptist Church. Gene's 'Happiness Unmoored' and 'Quantum Mechanical' will be performed as well as an arrangement of Billy Strayhorn's 'Something to Live For' and Mark Kostabi's 'Scarlet Spring'.
Dec.
12/3
Tania Stavreva performs 'Kandinsky Improvisations' as part of her Birthday concert at Marc A. Scorca Hall at The National Opera Center
12/7
Tania Stavreva performs
'Kandinsky Improvisations' as part of her Birthday concert at Marc A. Scorca Hall at The National Opera Center as part of her concert The New Piano Experience
12/7
EMX presents a concert at Sowieso in Berlin. Music to be performed include 'Three Poems’ for soprano and e. gtr., ‘Postlude' (from Suite #3) for cello and piano, & 'Water, Frog, Bird ' for cello and e. guitar. Premieres include ‘Pigments’, ‘Nausea’, 'Even More Paradoxes’ for gtr., piano and drums. Also the premiere of 'Quotes from People Born on Dec. 7' for soprano and mixed chamber ensemble.
12/19
'Sisyphus - Sinner Condemned' performed by the CompCord Ensemble as part of 'Eclectic Bands' concert presented by Composers Concordance at Settepani, Harlem.
12/31
Gene will conduct the concert 'Babylon Berlin Inspired’ featuring his‘ Berlin Suite' and various early jazz arrangements from the TV series Babylon Berlin at the SILVESTIVAL-Festival at the Historic Town Hall, Nuremberg in Nürnberg, Germany.
2020
Jan.
1/1
The premiere of 'EroicAnization' a commission for ensemble KONTRASTE, for Di.J. and chamber ensemble based on Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony conducted by Hans Rotman, performed at Tafelhalle, in Nuremberg, Germany.
1/12
A new chamber composition premiered as part of Composers Concordance presents 'Bob Brashear & CompCord Ensemble' at Kostabi world Uptown.
1/24
Premiere of a new solo piano piece and 'The Right Hand Does Not Know What the Left Hand is Doing' co composed with Peter Jarvis as part of Composers Concordance and Project142 presents 'Three's Keys' concert at the DiMenna Center.
1/31
Premiere of a new percussion quartet as part of Composers Concordance, William Paterson University & Composers Guild of New Jersey present: 'Backpack Concert'. Performed by the NJ Perc. Quartet at Bar Thalia | Symphony Space
Feb.
2/3
Performance of a new percussion quartet as part of Composers Concordance, William Paterson University & Composers Guild of New Jersey present: 'Backpack Concert'. Performed by the NJ Perc. Quartet at William Paterson University
March
3/19
Music to a silent film performed as part of Composers Concordance 'New Silent Film' concert at Proctors Theater in Schenectady, NY.
April
4/7
Warren Nicholson performs ‘Snyeg’’ for solo guitar at Kings Chapel 'Tuesday Recitals’ in Boston M.A
May
Gene has 5 premieres as part of Composers Concordance 9th Annual CompCord Festival: 'Comp | Lit Festival'
The 5 concerts are:
i. Now Is the Winter of Our Discoteque
ii. 11th Annual Comp-Play-Comp Marathon - 'Words & Music Theme’
iii. Humbug-Jitterbug
iv. Fortune Favors the Rave
v. O Haiku My Haiku
5/29 & 30
Premiere of Gene's orchestrations for the show Absolute Babylon Berlin, with music from the TV show Babylon Berlin which will include his ‘Farewell Berlin’. Gene will also play guitar at these performances at Verti Music Hall in Berlin, Germany.
June
6/2
Gene's orchestrations for the show Absolute Babylon Berlin, with music from the TV show Babylon Berlin which will include his ‘Farewell Berlin’. Gene will also play guitar at this concert Sparkassen Arena, Kiel, Germany.
6/3
Gene's orchestrations for the show Absolute Babylon Berlin, with music from the TV show Babylon Berlin which will include his ‘Farewell Berlin’. Gene will also play guitar at this concert Swiss Life Hall, Hannover, Germany.
6/4
Gene's orchestrations for the show Absolute Babylon Berlin, with music from the TV show Babylon Berlin which will include his ‘Farewell Berlin’. Gene will also play guitar at this concert Munsterlandhalle, Munster, Germany.
6/6
Gene's orchestrations for the show Absolute Babylon Berlin, with music from the TV show Babylon Berlin which will include his ‘Farewell Berlin’. Gene will also play guitar at this concert Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, Germany.
6/7
Gene's orchestrations for the show Absolute Babylon Berlin, with music from the TV show Babylon Berlin which will include his ‘Farewell Berlin’. Gene will also play guitar at this concert Olympiahalle, Munchen, Germany.
6/10
Gene's orchestrations for the show Absolute Babylon Berlin, with music from the TV show Babylon Berlin which will include his ‘Farewell Berlin’. Gene will also play guitar at this concert Barclaycard Arena, Hamburg, Germany.
6/14
Premiere of a new chamber piece as part of Composers Concordance & Howland Cultural Center present the CompCord Ensemble in Beacon NY.
'Intending to make music dangerous again.”
- Sequenza21
In world dominated by safe, carefully calculated music-making. Gene Pritsker is refreshing. If it tweaks our collective noses, perhaps they deserve tweaking.
- Fanfare Magazine