About
Michael Ostrzyga has gained international reputation as a composer of choral music in particular, being commissioned by festivals like the Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival and renowned performers around the globe like the Finnish YL Male Voice Choir (Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat), the Vienna Chamber Choir, latvian Youth Choir „Kamēr…“, via-nova-chor Munich, the Harvard Summer Chorus, and Chamber Choir Consono.
Albert Einstein
Short Biography
Michael Ostrzyga, composer and conductor, known in particular for his choral music, was commissioned by Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival, World Symposion on Choral Music (2020 in Auckland, NZ), Alte Oper Frankfurt, as well as performers around the globe like Finnish YL Male Voice Choir (Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat), Latvian Youth Choir „Kamēr…“, StimmGold Vokalensemble, and Kammerchor Stuttgart, among others. Performers include the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, Jeaner Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Concerto Köln, New Dublin Voices, Australian Chamber Choir, CHORWERK RUHR and MDR-Rundfunkchor. Ostrzyga holds a degree in music theory. In recent years, extensive analytical and style comparative studies of Mozart’s musical language lead to his completion of Mozart’s Requiem, merging musicological with historically informed music theoretical perspections as well as artistic practise in composition, arrangement, instrumentation etc. The Edition will be released in June 2022 by acclaimed publishing house Barenreiter. The first CD recording was nominated for an Opus Klassik as „Editorial Achievement of the Year“.
Besides, he serves as Music Director at University of Cologne, where he currently leads the Collegium Musicum (an organization housing the university’s major musical ensembles) and conducts choirs and orchestras. As a guest conductor, he collaborated with ensembles like Boston Modern Orchestra Projekt, Bochumer Symphoniker, Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, Musikfabrik, Alabany Consort, and Kölner Vokalsolisten and appeared in festivals like Acht Brücken. He has also regularly commissioned and premiered numerous new works by composers such as Martin Herchenröder, Friedrich Jaecker, Jan Masanetz and Anno Schreier.
Long Biography
Composer and Conductor Michael Ostrzyga has gained international reputation for his choral music in particular, being commissioned by Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival, World Symposion on Choral Music (2020 in Auckland, NZ), Alte Oper Frankfurt, as well as performers around the globe like Kammerchor Stuttgart and director Frieder Bernius, Finnish YL Male Voice Choir (Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat), Latvian Youth Choir „Kamēr…“, via-nova-chor Munich, StimmGold Vokalensemble, and Chamber Choir Consono, to name a few.
His works are performed by ensembles like Rheinisches Klavierduo, Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, Neues Rheinisches Kammerorchester, Jeaner Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Concerto Köln, New Dublin Voices, Australian Chamber Choir, Swedish choirs Kammarkören Pro Musica, Allmänna Sången and S:t Jacobs Vokalensemble, Chorwerk Ruhr and MDR-Rundfunkchor. His full-length Oratorio „Puer natus est“ for soloists, chorus and large orchestra, libretto by Winfried Böhm, was hailed as „resounding success“ by Bavarian Broadcasting. Ostrzyga also holds a degree in music theory. In recent years, extensive analytical and style comparative studies of Mozart’s musical language lead to a completion of Mozart’s Requiem fragment merging musicological with historically informed music theoretical approaches and artistic practise in composition, arrangement, instrumentation etc. The Edition will be released in June 2022 by acclaimed publishing house Barenreiter. The first CD recording was nominated for an Opus Klassik 2021 as „Editorial Achievement of the Year“.
As a guest conductor, he collaborated with ensembles like Boston Modern Orchestra Projekt, Bochumer Symphoniker, Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, Musikfabrik, Neues Rheinisches Kammerorchester, The Albany Consort, and Kölner Vokalsolisten and appeared in festivals like Acht Brücken. As a formerly active pianist, he co-founded the chamber music ensemble Sforzato presenting concerts combining music of all eras and genres. Throughout all of these various positions, he has regularly commissioned and premiered numerous new works by composers such as Michael Gees, Martin Herchenröder, Friedrich Jaecker, Jan Masanetz, Anno Schreier, and Gerhard Stäbler.
Ostrzyga was born in Castrop-Rauxel, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, where he was initially trained in piano, organ, and choral duties by Bruno Zaremba before studying conducting with renowned conductor Marcus Creed, music theory with Friedrich Jaecker, and piano with Peter Degenhardt.
German Biography
Michael Ostrzyga, Dirigent und Komponist, ist international bekannt vor allem für seine Chormusik. Kompositionsaufträge erhielt er u.a. vom Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, dem 12. World Symposion on Choral Music 2020 (Neuseeland), der Alten Oper Frankfurt, der Freiburger und Kölner Dommusik, dem YL Male Voice Choir (Finnland), dem StimmGold Vokalensemble und dem Kammerchor Stuttgart. Zu Interpretierenden zählen das Raschèr Saxophon Quartet, die Jenaer Philharmonie, das Rheinische Klavierduo, Concerto Köln, der MDR-Rundfunkchor, Chorwerk Ruhr, Kammarkören Pro Musica, Allmänna Sången, New Dublin Voices, „Kamer…“ und der Australian Chamber Choir. Früher als Pianist und Organist aktiv, hatte er außerdem das Kammerensemble sforzato mitbegründet.
2008 wurde er zum Universitätsmusikdirektor der Universität zu Köln und Leiter des Collegium musicum berufen. Hier dirigiert er Orchester, Chor, Kammerchor und Kammerorchester. Als Gast dirigierte er u.a. die Bochumer Sinfoniker, die Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, das Boston Modern Orchestra Project, die Musikfabrik, das Albany Consort und die Kölner Vokalsolisten. Chor-Einstudierungen machte er u. a. für Pablo Heras-Casado (mit ensemble intercontemporain), Duncan Ward (mit Ensemble modern) und François-Xavier Roth (Gürzenich Orchester Köln). Beim renommierten ACHT BRÜCKEN Festival hat er in den letzten Jahren mehrfach mitgewirkt und u.a. Vokalwerke Ligetis und Morton Feldmans „Rothko Chapel“ dirigiert.
Ostrzyga hat in seinen verschiedenen Positionen viele neue Werke in Auftrag gegeben, einstudiert und/oder uraufgeführt, u.a. von Manfred Trojahn, Gerhard Stäbler, Michael Gees, Jan Masanetz, Anno Schreier und Markus Schmickler. Sein abendfüllendes Weihnachtsoratorium „Puer natus est“ (2017) mit Libretto von Winfried Bohm beschrieb der BR als „durchschlagender Erfolg“. Kompositionen sind bei Breitkopf & Härtel, Carus und Helbling verlegt. In den letzten Jahren hat sich Ostrzyga intensiv mit der Tonsprache Mozarts auseinandergesetzt und erarbeite nach umfassenden analytischen und stilkomparativen Studien eine Ergänzung von Mozarts Requiem-Fragment, die erstmals musikhistorische Perspektiven mit historisch informierter Musiktheorie sowie Praxis in Komposition, Arrangement, Instrumentation etc. zusammenführt. Die Edition erscheint im Juli 2022 im Bärenreiter-Verlag. Die erste CD Einspielung der Edition wurde 2021 als „Editorische Leistung des Jahres“ für einen Opus Klassik nominiert.
Seine erste musikalische Ausbildung (Orgel, Klavier, Chor) erhielt Ostrzyga von Bruno Zaremba, bevor er in Köln bei Marcus Creed (Dirigieren), Friedrich Jaecker (Tonsatz) und Peter Degenhardt (Klavier) studierte und 2005 abschloss.
Upcoming projects
My Edition and Completion of Mozart’s unfinished Requiem fragment will be released by Barenreiter publishing house in June 2022. Performances are coming up in Germany, France, and Utah (USA).
Klavierfestival Lindlar (June 26th to July 8th 2022) features a Piano Recital with a program combining many of my piano works with music by J. S. Bach (partly in Transcriptions for Piano, by Liszt and Busoni). Christoph Schnackertz performs. My own compositions include, among others, „Suite for prepared Piano“, „Ruddy Moon“, „Erste Sterne“, and the world premiere of „Langeoog-Tagebuch I“.
Uranus for chorus a cappella, commissioned by hamburgVOKAL, will be premiered and performed several times in and around Hamburg in the second half of 2022.
Junges Ensemble Berlin directed by Vinzenz Weissenburger commissioned a new two-part piece for chorus(es) and possibly small organ, cello, double bass, and viola. The two parts will be performed between the parts of Schütz‘ Musikalische Exequien. Premiere: November 13 2022 with members of Staatskappelle Berlin.
via-nova-chor München commissioned Mars and Venus for chorus a cappella to be premiered in 2023 (originally slated for October 2022 but delayed due to the pandemic) on the occassion of the 50th anniversary of the choir. With both compositions my cycle Planets and Gods (covering all planets in our solar system as well as other objects and Gods) will be complete.
See Webside of Collegium musicum at Cologne University
Performing