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 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 described as "surprising, rich, and colorful", demonstrating "ingenuity and great drive" (Haaretz).
Orchestras, ensembles and soloists in Europe, the United States and the Middle-East have performed Udi’s music, including the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Yale Philharmonia, Philharmonie der Nationen, Israel Sinfonietta Beer Sheva, International Ensemble Modern Academy, loadbang, 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 Yael Levita, soprano Einat Aronstein and percussionist Oded Geizhals, among others.
Forthcoming performances include pieces for the Yale Glee Club Chamber Singers, Lysander Trio and pianist Simon Karakulidi. Udi has received commissions from The Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund, Dan David Foundation, Israel Music Institute, Herrenhaus Edenkoben, European Capital of Culture Festival, 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, Perlman (b. 1990) is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Composition at the Yale School of Music, studying with Martin Bresnick, David Lang, Aaron Jay Kernis and Christopher Theofanidis. He earned an Artist Diploma in composition from the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, where he studied with Jörg Widmann. Previously Perlman studied composition with Wolfgang Rihm at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, and earned his B.Mus and M.Mus in composition at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, studying with Yinam Leef and Menachem Wissenberg.
