Biography

Described by the Israeli Prime Minister's Composer Award Committee as "a fascinating young composer, a unique voice" writing music "that engages with past traditions while being original, innovative and aesthetically developed," Udi Perlman (b. 1990) is an Israeli-born composer of orchestral, chamber, and vocal music currently based in New Haven and Berlin. Perlman's work has been praised by critics for its "fascinating texture" and "elegant structure" and described as a "demonstration of ingenuity and great drive" (Haaretz). 

Orchestras, ensembles and soloists in Europe, the United States and the Middle-East have performed Udi’s music, including Philharmonie der Nationen, Israel Sinfonietta Beer Sheva, International Ensemble Modern Academy, Omer String Quartet, Israeli Contemporary Players, Israeli Chamber Project, Meitar Ensemble, Neon Ensemble, Israeli Flute Choir, MultiPiano Ensemble, Tremolo Ensemble, Syntagma Piano Duo, Arab-Jewish Youth Orchestra Saxophonist Marcus Weiss, Flutist Yossi Arnheim, Soprano Einat Aronstein and Percussionist Oded Geizhals, among others.

Forthcoming performances include pieces for the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra with soprano Hila Baggio and loadbang ensemble. Udi has received commissions from The Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund, Dan David Foundation, Israel Music Institute, Gesellschaft für Neue Musik Mannheim and 'Wrocław - European Capital of Culture 2016', among others.

Perlman's notable awards include the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the 2018 Israeli Prime Minister's Composer Award, the 2020 François Schapira Prize for Composition, Aviv Competitions, Klon Prize of The Israeli Composers League, 1st Prize at the National Composition Competition of the Israel Conservatory, as well as prizes from the Hamburger Camerata's International Composer Competition and the Pnina Avni Competition. He received scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, the Siday Fellowship for Musical Creativity and the Baden-Württemberg-Stipendium. From 2014 to 2016 he was a composition fellow of Meitar Ensemble's Tedarim Project for Contemporary Music. In 2018 Perlman was Composer-in-Residence at Herrenhaus Edenkoben, Germany.

Originally from Tel Aviv, Udi is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Composition at Yale School of Music, studying with Martin Bresnick and David Lang. Previously he studied composition at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (Israel) with Yinam Leef and Menachem Wissenberg, where he earned his B.Mus and M.Mus, and at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe (Germany) with Wolfgang Rihm, where he was an exchange student. He also completed an Artist Diploma in composition from the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin (Germany), where he studied with Jörg Widmann.