Contact: Genepritsker@gmail.com
Gene Pritsker Composer
“Mischief-maker and cultural blender-in-chief, Pritsker is a serious artist, yet much of his work is witty and irreverent.” Anyone can draw a mustache on the Mona Lisa, but few musicians draw it as artistically and creatively as Gene Pritsker.”
- Raymond Tuttle, Fanfare Magazine
"...audacious...multitalented."
- The New York Times
'The shape-shifting Gene Pritsker is one of the only composers who continues to break down the barriers that still exist in the sometimes water-tight compartments that industry marketers revel in."
- Raul d'Gama Rose, All About Jazz
“Mischief-maker and cultural blender-in-chief, Pritsker is a serious artist, yet much of his work is witty and irreverent.” Anyone can draw a mustache on the Mona Lisa, but few musicians draw it as artistically and creatively as Gene Pritsker.”
- Raymond Tuttle, Fanfare Magazine
"...audacious...multitalented."
- The New York Times
'The shape-shifting Gene Pritsker is one of the only composers who continues to break down the barriers that still exist in the sometimes water-tight compartments that industry marketers revel in."
- Raul d'Gama Rose, All About Jazz
'Intending to make music
dangerous again.”
- Sequenza21
Gene Pritsker Composer
Recent albums
Featured Videos
Recent & Upcoming
Performances:
2025
June
6/1
Petro Krysa performs many of Gene’s compositions at Mermaid Lounge in Saettle, WA. Including ‘Krompli’, 'Ukrainian Lullabies ReMix’, ‘Song’s Sean Liked’ and other compositions for violin and Samplestra
6/6
Premiere of a 'Blusatina' for clarinet and electric guitar as part of Composers Concordance presents Charlie And The Composers with clarinetist Charles Neidich at The Ellington Room at Manhattan Plaza
6/8
Premiere of 'Inspirations on Roger Aplon's Improvisations- After Gene Pritsker’s Potemkin' for B3+ and CompCord Ensemble as part of Composers Concordance presents CompCord at Howland at Howland Cultural Center in Beacon NYC
6/13
Baritone Andrew White and pianist David Bohn premiere 'So I Flee The Death In Me’ at St. Mary's Church in Port Washington WI.
6/13
Machiko Ozawa premiers 'SuMmer PreSSto’ from 'VivalDiJ' at a festival in Arcachon, France
6/13
Release of the Sound Liberation album 'Elegy' on Composers Concordance Records
6/21
Premiere of 'For Sean' as part of Composers Concordance presents Guitars & Poems at Jim Kempner Fine Arts
6/26
Petro Krysa and Volodymyr Duda premiere the double violin concerto ‘Against All hope’ with the Lviv Virtuosos as part of their event Zarno Jazz, also on the program premiere of 'Krompli II' for violin, rhythm section, strung orchestra and Samplestra. At the S. Lyudkevych Concert Hall in Lviv Ukraine
6/28
Premiere of 'In Memory Of Chuck Connelly' for trumpet and guitar and 'Bessie (Steel Mill Homage)' on a poem by Robert C. Ford for narrator, baritone, trumpet and guitar at the Chuck Connelly Memorial event at St Bartholomew Church in NYC
July
7/5
Performances of various compositions as part of EMX presents a concert at Panda Platforma in Berlin, Germany, featuring
Winkler Ljiljana - soprano,
Machiko Ozawa - violin
Mando Beatbox and
the Clair-obscur Sax Quartet
Premiers include: - 'Cease', ' Game Over',
'A Tuneless Rebel Lullaby'
7/10
The CompCord Ensemble performs at the American Arts Center in Casablanca. The concert is mostly compositions by Gene. ncluding the premieres of 'Ramadan Hunger', and 'VivalDiJ', as well as new version of older compositions such as 'Under The Wolf’s Cloak III', 'I don’t do what I’m Told II', 'Ghoulish Rose', 'The Sea Monster & The Milk Thistle II'.
With Ljiljana Winkler, Machiko Ozawa, Imelda O'Reilly
Prog.
7/18
CompCord Ensemble performs at Kostabi Villa in Rome, Italy.
Premiere of 'When Creatures Stir' and performances of 'Wanderlust', and 'Hand Motion'. With Machiko Ozawa, Lesi Mei, Todd Rewoldt, Tasos Papastamou
Prog.
7/22
Performing a concert in Lviv, Ukraine with Noizepunk & Petro and Friends with violinist. Petro Krysa at the Dzyga Gallery
Prog
7/25-26
Gene is at the YXIE Festival in Villeblevin, France, performing a duo concert with violinist Machiko Ozawa and giving a composition masterclass.
7/27-8/17
Gene is back at The Outreach Festival in Schwaz, Austria, for many concerts, workshops, and masterclasses
7/31
Premiere of 'We Have Our' for the Sparks Ensemble as part of the Music Power in the Park event
Aug
8/1
Video to Lockdown Lullabies #1 premiered at William Schimmels Accordion Seminars
8/7
Premiere of 'Nothingness of Big Lies' with the Outreach Orchestra in Schwaz, Austria.
8/14
The Ukrainian Cultural - ZERNO Project with Petro & Noizepunk at the Outreach Festival
9/24
Petro Krysa performs The Ukrainian Cultural - ZERNO Project at the Patyk Museum in Livv, Ukraine
8/18
Baritone Andrew White performs 'So I Flee The Death In Me’ at the Ellington Room as part of Concordance presents 'Baritone Andrew White'
8/23
Sound Liberation performs at Joe's Pub for a set of Gene's compositions.
8/24
2nd movement of the trio 'Everything Profound' performed at ACM's Thirsty Ears Festival, by Seth Boustead/David Keller/Traci Huff
8/30
Violinist Machiko Ozawa and pianist Jai Jeffryes premiere 'Prism Sonata' as part of Composers Concordance presents 'Prism Duo' at Steel Wig Music
Sept.
9/6
Soprano Ljiljana Winkler premieres ‘Poems of Imelda O'Rellly’ as part of Composers Concordance presents 'Art Of The Art Song' at Westbeth
9/12
Gene Performs a solo guitar set as part of Composers Concordance presents '21st Century Solo Electric Guitar'. His compositions include 'Three Ballades for Electric Guitar'. At Silvana in Harlem
9/27
Violinist Ekaterina Gubanova performs 'She’s So Chaconne’ at Myaskovsky Hall of the Moscow Conservatory
9/28
'The Food Hymnal' for SATB chorus is performed as part of Composers Concordance presents 'Ciabatta Cantata' at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery
Oct.
10/3
Premiere of 'Stir' for alto sax and piano as part of Composers Concordance presents 'Evan Francis and Steve Sandberg Duo' at The Ellington Room
10/11
Premiere of a composition as part of Composers Concordance presents' Interpretations of Art @ Hardware Gallery featuring The CompCord Ensemble'
10/19
Compositions performed at as part of Composers Concordance presents Timbre Tantrum: Guitars with the My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama Guitar Trio
10/31
Five string compositions premiered as part of Composers Concordance presents 'Composers Tournament' at Loft393
About
Composer Gene Pritsker has written over nine hundred compositions, including chamber operas, orchestral and chamber works, electro-acoustic music and songs for hip-hop and rock ensembles. His compositions employ an eclectic spectrum of styles, that are influenced by his studies of various musical cultures.
He is the founder and leader of Sound Liberation, an eclectic hip hop-chamber-jazz-rock-etc. ensemble. He also Co-Directs Composers Concordance and is a co-founder and composer-in-residence of the Grammy nominated Absolute Ensemble. Gene's music is performed all over the world at internationally recognized festivals and by highly respected ensembles and performers.
"My music is extremely eclectic, for me music has no bounds - I view the world of music as one big genre. My motto for my art is 'ending the segregation of sound vibration.'"
Gene is also a guitarist/rapper/Di.J./ and producer and incorporates each of these musical attributes to create music that is “not designed for easy listening or to melt into the background. It is insistent. It demands attention and curiosity."
- New York Newsday.
Gene worked closely with jazz fusion legend Joe Zawinul and has orchestrated major Hollywood movies, including 'Cloud Atlas', for which he wrote his ''Cloud Atlas Symphony’ and the 2021 film The Matrix Resurrections
PROJECTS
Sound Liberation / Recordings / Film/Commercial / Money (hip-hop opera) VRE Suite / solo, duo, trio... / Cello Lounge / William James's... opera
Di.J. Noizepunk / Cloud Atlas Symphony / Samplestra / Reinventions / DAYS Composers Concordance & Comp Cord Records / EMX / Maggots / Concertos
RiteOfSpring..Eclectic / Manhattan in Charcoal / Melodies Alone.. / EroicAnization / Groove Possessed / Trump Concerto / Blog
This album demonstrates some of Composer Gene Pritsker's compsotions that explore the various sounds of string instruments. From solo violin compositions performed by Lara St. John and Machiko Ozawa to string quartets performed by the CompCord String Quartet and Kahlo String Quartet to music for multiple strings including compositions for 3 violin, 5 violins and 2 electric guitars.
‘Under The Wolf’s Cloak’ music by Gene Pritsker poem by Imelda O'Reilly, for narrator, chorus and two Marimbas Performed by Imelda O'Reilly - narrator David Cossin - marimba Macrófona Choir
Sound Liberation Di.J. Quartet Gene Pritsker - Di.J. / guitar Peter Oswald - trumpet Clemens Rofner - bass Simon Springer - Drums
'Blues from an Airport Bar' by Gene Pritsker is a song cycle based on 4 poems of Jacob Miller. The music is inspired by the blues, but with very extended harmony and melody.. The song ‘Path’ is originally written as an r&b track, here it is transformed into a jazzy/operatic chamber piece that features the brilliant voice of Ljiljana and the groovy ensemble playing of the Solenne Band
On ‘Better Now’ Gene Pritsker’s compositions explore soul, hip-hop, modern jazz, cross over classical, blues, r&b, jazz fusion and more. Recorded over a period of two years in various locations and studios, some tracks recorded remotely some in a studio station. The album takes you on a no holds bar genre defying journey that is the defining style of Sound Liberation.
Composer/bass trombonist Dave Taylor and composer/guitarist Gene Pritsker present a full album of duets for this unique instrumental combination. The album was mostly recorded remotely during the pandemic, some of the music was newly written for the project and many of the pieces Dave and Gene performed together before. The whole album was inspired after the duo recorded Gene’s ‘Pandemic Dance #22’, which was part of his Pandemic Dances project.
‘Only A Game’ was a commission by Robert Shannon Fields, to write music for his ballet libretto that he wrote decades ago in the former east Germany. I wrote this string trio inspired by the actions and words of Robert's ballet scenario. The music flowed to the imaginary dancers in my mind that were swaying, jumping acting out Robert's story; the 3rd act starts with a scene called 'A Special Game’. Here the solo cello delves into Shostakovich like chromaticism and lyricism, playing a game with
Soubrette auf der Toilette
‘Let’s Save the World Suite’ is a seven movement composition based on three poems of Erik T. Johnson. It is scored for a quintet of trumpet, sax, electric guitar, electric bass and drum set, with a narrator reciting the poem in three of the movements.
CLOUD ATLAS SYMPHONY
Duets For The End Of The World' is a collaboration between alto saxophonist Todd Rewoldt and composer/guitarist Gene Pritsker, recorded remotely during the pandemic. The album emphasizes duets Pritsker wrote for Rewoldt and himself, but also features Gene’s music for solo alto sax and electronics, larger chamber ensembles, and a composition by composer Seth Boustead.
'Stray-in-Place Song Cycle' is an album of six eclectic songs by Gene Pritsker, based on the poetry of Erik T. Johnson and inspired by the lockdown of 2021. Three of the songs are rock-influenced and the others have jazzier roots. All are performed by world-class musicians. A variety of singers add their unique styles to six pieces, giving the recording an extra-eclectic flavor. They are: Stefanie Egger (Austria); Sophie Dunér (Sweden); Berzan Önen (Turkey); Yelena Dudochkin (USA); and Stefani
Protest
GP Trio
EroicAnization
Maggots and other Chamber music of Gene Pritsker
Albums
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