Karola Obermüller’s composing, described by the NYT as “hyperkinetic music”, is constantly in search of the unknown. Her unique voice began forming in collages of sound made with tape recorders and evolved later with composition degrees obtained in Nuremberg, Saarbrücken, and at the Mozarteum Salzburg.
Her sense of rhythm and form was forever changed by studying Carnatic and Hindustani classical music in India.
Since receiving a doctorate from Harvard, Obermüller taught composition and co-directed the composition area at the University of New Mexico before joining the Department of Music at UC San Diego in 2023.
She also lives and works part of the year in Europe and has been a visiting artist at ZKM, Deutsche Akademie Rom, Centro Tedesco di studi Veneziani, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Eisler House (International Hanns Eisler Scholarship), and IRCAM.
Her music can be heard on CD (WERGO, New Focus Recordings, Brilliant Classics, NEOS).
