Biography
Volker Goetze is an international touring performer, composer, filmmaker and media artist. He has performed and presented his work at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Paris Jazz Festival, WDR Cologne, Gasteig Munich, Jazz-A-Vienne, World Festival of Sacred Music (Los Angeles), Caixa Forum Madrid and the Opera Festival in Munich. His work fuels cross-cultural dialogue, incorporates multiple disciplines and utilizes cutting edge technology. His compositions derive from folklore music, rock, jazz, contemporary music, classical as well as baroque music. He has been investigating the oral culture and storytelling of West Africa and its influences on jazz and black culture in America. GRIOT, a feature documentary about the oral music tradition in West Africa, is Volker Goetze's debut as a film director and has since developed into a multimedia performance documentary. Mr. Goetze has held many master classes and was invited as a panelist by the Apollo Theater and the New York Foundation for the Arts.
Education
• Master Of Music (2003) at the Aaron Copland School Of Music at Queens College, trumpet with Prof. Michael Mossman
• Artist Diploma (2001) at the Hochschule für Musik Köln at Cologne, trumpet with Markus Stockhausen
Selected Advanced Study
2010 Composers Orchestra Institute at the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University
2006 MAX/MSP with Zachary Seldess, Harvestworks, New York
2005 BMI Jazz Composers Workshop with Jim Mc Neely, Michael Abene and Mike Holober, New York
Languages
English (fluent), French (fluent), German (native)
Grants and Awards
2017 EtM Con Edison Composers’ Residency, New York, “Unique Places of Death NYC”
CMA Showcase with Trumpet-Kora duo, Chamber Music America
2016 BANFF Center for Arts and Creativity, International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, TD Fellow, Canada
2015 Classical:NEXT – Video showcase Presentation, Rotterdam
2013 Best world Music Release 2012 voted by Public Radio International’s The World
#1 iTunes France
#2 European World Music Charts
#5 release of 2012 ECHOES program hosted by John Diliberto
2012 BNP Parisbas Foundation support for album release Amanké Dionti
GRIOT feature documentary nominated for “History in Time” – prize
2011 free109point3 Transmission Art, Distribution Grant
2010 NYSCA Post-Production grant for feature documentary GRIOT
NYSCA Individual artist commissioning grant for Mandé Symphony
NYFA Opportunity Grant
NYFA Immigrant Artist Fellow
2009 International Franz Josef Reinl Composition Prize, Munich
9th Independent Music Awards Nomination for best traditional world music
2005 BMI Composition Competition, 2nd place at Charlie Parker/Many Alban, New York
2004 BMI Jazz Composers Workshop Fellowship (Broadcast Music Inc.), New York
2002 DAAD (German Academic Exchange Program) Full-scholarship to study at the Aaron Copland School of Music, New York
1999 Dr. Konrad Kraemer Cultural Prize, Bergisch-Gladbach
Teaching Experience
Panel Discussions
2012 “Future of Music” - Apollo Theatre, Harlem, New York - Guest Panelist and Presenter
2012 “Cross Disciplinary Filmmaking” - New York Foundation for the Arts - Guest Panelist and Presenter
University / College and Seminars
2015 Master class, Panama School of Music, Panama
2009 Workshop, Penn State University
2007 Jazz Composers Symposium, Presented Big Band Composition “Solace”, Florida
2006 NYU, Jazz Combo, substitute teacher, Arranging
Advisor
2013 - 2015 Mentor for Immigrant Artists at NYFA (New York Foundation for the Arts)
Music Instructor
2002 - current Private Studio, New York
2002 - 2011 Amadeus Conservatory Of Music, Chappaqua, New York
2006 - 2007 Douglaston School of The Arts, Long Island, New York
2002 - 2003 Long Island School of Music & Art, Albertson, New York
1999 - 2002 Yamaha Music School, Bonn, Germany
Discography
Composer, Arranger, Soloist, Producer
Bridges 2017 Volker Goetze Quintet with Richie Barshay (drums), Membran
Djalia 2014 Volker Goetze and Ablaye Cissoko, Ma-Case, France
Truth or Fable 2014 Lausanne Chamber Ensemble, Independent Release
Amanke Dionti 2012 Volker Goetze and Ablaye Cissoko, Motema Music Inc., New York
NY 10027 2011 Volker Goetze Orchestra, G*Records, New York
Sira 2009 Volker Goetze and Ablaye Cissoko, Obliqsound, New York
Arranger, Soloist
Triolog 2003 Volker Goetze, Nana Vasconcelos, Pablo Arrieta, Reciefe, Brazil
Banda Do Mato 2001 UNIQUE Records, compilations in England, Italy and France
Soloist / RECORDING ARTIST (SELECTED)
Monk’s Mood 2013 Steve Lacy, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Schmidtke (1999)
Flashpoint 2010 David White Jazz Orchestra, New York
NYU Jazz Orchestra 2005 The music of Teo Mocero, Teo Production, New York
Comming Home 2001 Hermosa, Blue Flame
shakespeare songs 2000 On avon
Hotel The Twilight Waltzes 2000 Tomtone
Men on the moon 2000 Lax Alex Contrax, Valve Records/Cargo
Live in China 1999 KAZDA ITM Records
Blues Variations 1999 Wolfgang Schmidtke Orchestra, West Wind Jazz
Sphärenmusik 1998 Donatus Haus, Trumpet Ensemble Markus Stockhausen
Best of LJJO 1997 Jugend Jazz Orchestra NRW, Solofeatures
Filmography and Gallery Exhibitions
GRIOT feature-length documentary, 82 minutes
• Vancouver International Film Festival, Canada (Sep-Oct 2012)
• Seminci, Valladolid, Spain (Oct 2012)
• Warsaw Film Festival, Poland (Oct 2012)
• Africa in Motion, Edinburgh, United Kingdom (Nov 2012)
• Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Greece (March 2013)
• Multikulti, Florence (Nov 2014)
• Brave Festival, Poland (July 2015)
• Jazz A Vienne, France (July 2016)
KIMINTANG - Installation video & color prints
• Pangea, NYFA, New York (2014)
FARO music video, 6 minutes
• Dumbo Arts Festival (2010)
• Yosemite Film Festival - John Muir Gold Award (2009)
SONGS OF THE GRIOT short film, 22 minutes
• Dumbo Arts Festival (2010)
• Seattle International Film Festival (2010)
VARIOUS MUSIC VIDEOS
• Marketing purposes distributed on online Portals: Vimeo and YouTube Channel (145,070+ views, monthly average +2000 views)
Press Quotes
“Powerful writing combining jazz, classical and African elements. And if you think you know Lenny Picket from Tower of Power and Saturday Night Live, check him out on ‘Solace’.” - Jim McNeely
#1 iTunes France - World Music Album
#1 Global Hit of 2012 - Public Radio International
A quiet gem!” - Siddhartha Mitter, Boston Globe (USA)
“Nominated for best traditional song“ - 9th Annual Independent Music Awards (USA)
“#2 Album“ - College Music Journal (CMJ), World Music Chart (USA)
“A breath of fresh air, Ablaye Cissoko and Volker Goetze's Sira provides an oasis of calm in which to pause and rest, to reflect and be moved...to tears.“ - All About Jazz (USA)
4 stars! “A real late-night beauty...More than a sum of its parts, a conjoining of talents that brings real magic.” - All Music Guide
“The music on this album is a revelation.” - Songlines (UK)
“A musical dialogue full of mutual listening and shared trust.” - Radio France International (France)
5 stars! “Their effortless conversation, between echoes of tradition and invented vocabulary, both soothes and thrills.” - Mondomix (France)
4 Stars! “Recorded in Senegal as a duet, Sira marks a true meeting of the minds. 10 delicate titles, a hymn to simplicity and to the universality of music. Beautiful.” - Jazzman (France)
“What’s unusual is not so much the combination of instruments, but the way in which these two musicians of clearly different backgrounds have created quite a distinct sound. The album is a wonderful collaboration of cultures and language.” - BBC World on 3 (UK)
“A captivating intercontinental exchange.” - Vibrations (UK)
Performance History
2015 Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris, France) World Music Panamá (Panama) Cully Jazz Festival (Switzerland) Caixa Forum Barcelona (Spain) Jazz Sous Les Pommiers (Coutance, France) Chat Noir (Geneva, Switzerland) New Philharmonic (Paris, France) Huseca (Spain) Thessaloniki (Greece) Toulon (France) Theatre du Rocher (La Garde, France) Centre Culturelle René Char (France) Theatre de la maison du people (Millau, France) Tribehaus (Insbruck, Austria) W:Hall Auditorium (Bruxelles, Belgium) Louvain (Belgium) Salle Paul Fort (Nantes, France) Centre Culturelle Pôle Sud (Chartes de Bretagne, France) L’eclat (Pont Audemer, France) L’estran (Guidel, France) Centre Culturel Seyssinet-Pariset (France) Forum des jenes et de la culture (Berre l’Etang, France) Dampfschiff (Brugg, Switzerland) Classical:NEXT (Video Presentation Mandé Symphony, Rotterdam, The Netherlands) ScheggiAcustica (Rom, Italy) Hospitalkirche (Schwäbich Hall, Germany) Sarcelles (France) Theatre Festival at Idar-Oberstein (Germany)
2014 Paris Jazz Festival (Paris, France) Caixa Forum Madrid (Spain) Musée de la Castre (Cannes, France) Jazz Fest Patras (Greece) Theatre l'Illiade (llkirch, France) Centre Culturel Gérard Philippe (Calais, France) Université de Maastricht (Netherlands) Caixa Forum Zaragoza (Spain) Le Zèbre de Belleville (Paris, France) Festival de Jazz au Fil de l Oise (France) Festival MultiCulti (Florence, Italy) Ilvesheim (Germany) Perpignan (France) Nyon (France) Neuville en Ferrain (France) Wambrechies (France) Courtrai- Kortrijk (Belgium) Lys Lez Lannoy (France) Bondues (France) Mouscron (Belgium) Saint Vaast la Hougue (France) Limoge (France) Carantec - Morlaic (France) Ile Oleron (France) Sable d Olonne (France) Festival Only French au Pan Piper (Paris, France) Festival des Hauts de Garonne (Bordeaux, France) Vincennes Espace Sorano (France) Festival Kulturarte (Corsica, France) Le Vieux Couvent (Muzillac, France) Espace Roudour (St Martin des Champs, France) Riksscenen (Oslo, Norway) Théâtre de Villeneuve sur Lot (France) Festival Propulse Le Botanique (Bruxelles, Belgium) Le Cheval Blanc (Schiltigheim, France) Théâtre Le Salmanazar (Epernay, France) Muséum d'Histoires Naturelles de la Rochelle (France) Espace Prévert (Savigny-Le-Temple, France) La Ferme du Buisson (Marne la Vallée, France) Les Midis au Theatre, Theatre de Rungis (France) Jazz-Time Klub (Prague, Czech Republic) Espace Culturel (Chabeuil, France) Salle Nougaro (Toulouse, France)
2013 Festival Jazz à Vienne (France) Festival Jazz à Oloron (France) Festival Suoni Mobili (Itlay) Docks des Suds, Babel Med (Marseille, France) Cafe de La Danse (Paris, France) Centre Culturel Jean Gagnant (Limoges, France) Mairie de Lons (France) Vancity Theatre (Vancouver, Canada) The Plaza Theatre (Calgary, Canada) Broadway Theatre (Saskatoon, Canada) Theatre Outremont (Montreal, Canada) Gordon Best Theatre (Peterborough, Canada) The Chrysalids Theatre (Ontario, Canada) The Royal (Toronto, Canada) Rhino Jazz Festival (St Romain en Gal, France) Cite de la Musique (La cordonnerie, France) Festival Chainon Manquant - Changé (France) Festival Les Nuits d'O (Montpellier, France) Festival Les Arts (Huy, Belgium) Festival Au Grès du Jazz (Strasbourg, France) Festival Musique et Patrimoine (Festes, France) Notre Dame de Lorette (Alan, France) Dar Cherif, Centre d'Art et Culturem (Djerba, Tunesia) Zèbre de Belleville (Paris, France) Théâtre Le Pédiluve, Châtenay-Malabry (Paris, France) Festival Jazz in Fougères (France) La Peniche Spectacle (Rennes, France) Le Bijou (Toulouse, France) Satellit Cafe (Roannes, France) Maison de L'université (Rouen, France) Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (Greece)
2012 WDR (West German Radio Station, Mandé Symphony, Cologne, Germany) Sculpture Garden, Anthony Gregg Foundation (Wuppertal, Germany) Muziekpublique (Brussels, Belgium) “Ce Soir au Jamais” France 3 – TV (Paris, France) Vancouver International Film Festival (Canada) Seminica (Valladolid, Spain) Warsaw Film Festival (Poland) Africa in Motion (Edinburgh, United Kingdom) International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
2011 World Festival of Sacred Music (Los Angeles, USA) Opera Festival, Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich, Germany) Culturehub, Mandé Symphony (New York, USA) WDR Nacht der Musikkulturen Culturehub, Telepresence Live Performance in collaboration with SeoulArts (New York, USA) Drom (New York, USA) D.C. Jazz Festival (Washington D.C., USA) Jazz-A-Oloron (France) Kennedy Center, Washington D.C WOMEX film screening (Copenhagen, Denmark) Sceduced by Harps, Folkfestival, (Lommel, Belgium) The Beehive (Boston, USA) Jazzhouse (Copenhagen, Denmark)
2010 Dumbo Arts Festival (New York, USA) Benefit Concert for Tostan.org with Katja Riemann, Stadtgarten (Cologne, Germany) Penn State Univeristy (USA) Pittsburgh (USA) Twins Jazz (Washington D.C. USA) Jazz Gallery (New York, USA) Unison Art (New Palz, USA) Im Ort (Wuppertal, Germany)
2009 World Premier of ‘Truth or Fable’, Chamber Orchestra at Gasteig (Munich, Germany) Bercy Villlage (Paris) Philadelphia (USA) Zanzibar (Santa Monica, USA) Café Metropol (Los Angels, USA) San Luis Obispo (KBCX) Don Quixote (Felton, USA) Café Culture (Chico, USA) Ashkenaz (Berkeley, USA) Cozmic Café (Placerville, USA) Alliance Français (San Francisco, USA) Beehive (Boston, USA) Drom (New York, USA)
1997 - 2008 Center Culturelle Français (Saint-Louis, Senegal) Just4You (Dakar, Senegal) Goethe Institute (Dakar, Senegal) Kennedy Center (Washington D.C., USA) Im Ort (Wuppertal, Germany) Satellite Café (Paris, France) Jazzhouse (Copenhagen, Denmark) La Meson (Marseille, France) Loft (Cologne, Germany) Concerts with Craig Handy (Siegen, Germany) BMI Competition Concert, Merkin Hall (New York, USA) Classical Soloist at Saint Joan of Arc Virtuosi (New York, USA) Trio Recording with Nana Vasconcelos (Recife, Brazil) Sound Understanding at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall (New York, USA) WDR Nachtmusik “Präludien Fugen Kommentare - Neues und Altes zu Bach“ (Cologne, Germany) African European Jazz Orchestra (Saint-Louis, Senegal & Paris, France) Saint-Louis Jazz Festival opening for Youssou N’Dour Performances with Peter Kowald, Im Ort (Wuppertal, Germany) Tour and Live CD with KAZDA (China) Concerts with Ronnie Burrage, Forum Maximum (Wuppertal, Germany) Benefit Concert at Deutsche Welle (Cologne, Germany) Performance with Trumpet Ensemble Markus Stockhausen (Cologne, Germany) Youth All Star Big Band at the Hessischer Rundfunk with Maria Schneider (Frankfurt, Germany) Wolfgang Schmidtke Orchestra featuring Steve Lacy and Peter Kowald (Wuppertal, Germany)
Published Works
Contemporary World Music
Dance of the Chameleon 2014
Gal Bi 2014
Nte Dionola 2014
Miliamba 2011
Bamaya 2007
Faro 2007
Manssani Cisse 2007
Contemporary Big Band Works
Solace 2007
Tree 2005
Wunderkind 2004
Inside The Outside World 2006
Snow Crystal 2007
Cissoko’s Kora 2005
La Prier Du Soir A Saint-Louis 2001
The Other Side Of The Odds 2002
African Child 2003
Piano / Trumpet Works
The Other Side Of The Odds 2001
Wunderkind 2001
Silent Thunder 2001
Funky One 1999
Volk’s Song 1999
Passing 1999
Attribute Of The Strong 2000
Quintet
Wolof Me 2001
African Child 2002
Man With Three Flutes 2015
Devika 2013
Snow Crystal 2007
In Supplication 2015
Quartet
Natural Strength 2015
Chamber Music
Truth Or Fable 2007
Dance Score
Fete Du Sabar 2015
Installations
Kimintang 2014
Songs of the Griot 2010
Films
GRIOT 2012
Songs of the Griot 2009
Music Videos
Faro 2008
Sira (live) 2010
Faro (live) 2010
Haiti (live) 2012
Fete Du Sabar 2015
Devika 2015
Nte Dionola 2015
Multimedia works
Mandé Symphony Extended 2012
Mandé Symphony 2011
Manssani Cisse (projection video) 2010
Faro (projection video) 2009
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