Bernhard Gal

Bernhard Gál (a.k.a. gal) is a composer, artist and musicologist from Vienna, Austria who creates electro-acoustic music as well as compositions for acoustic instruments. In his inter-media and sound art installations Gal combines sound, light, objects, video projections and spatial concepts.

Born in Vienna, Austria in 1971, Gal began to nurture his growing interest in music and (sound) art around 1986, playing piano and guitar, performing with local rock bands and pursuing private compositional studies. After studies at Vienna's University of Music (Sound engineering) and the University of Vienna (Musicology), and a year-long residency in New York City in 1997-98, he decided to focus on his compositional and artistic activities. Since 1998 Gal works as a freelance composer and artist. In 2003 he was a guest composer of the DAAD artist-in-residence program in Berlin. Currently Gal lives and works in Berlin and Vienna.

Gal's work has been presented in concerts, sound installations and exhibitions throughout Europe, and in Japan, Taiwan and the Americas (e.g. Konzerthaus Wien; Museum Essl Austria; O.K Linz; singuhr-hoergalerie Berlin; Podewil Berlin; Institut Mathildenhoehe Darmstadt; GAle GAtes Gallery New York, Tonic New York; Art in General New York) and in music and art festivals (e.g. Wien Modern Vienna; ICMC Berlin; MaerzMusik Berlin; Inventionen Berlin; Musashino Public Art Festival Tokyo; MATA Festival New York).

As a musician, Gal has performed in solo concerts and collaborated with Aki Onda, Alan Licht, Brian Labycz, Chao-Ming Tung, Kai Fagaschinski, Manuel Mota, et al. He has worked together with architects, choreographers, dancers, painters, performance-, media- and video artists, e.g. G.S. Sedlak, Emre Tuncer, P. Michael Schultes and Akemi Takeya. In 1997 Gal began a continuous collaboration with the Japanese architect and installation artist Yumi Kori ('audio-architectural installations').

For his music and art projects Gal received various awards and grants, e.g. the Composition Award of Initiative Minderheiten Vienna 2000, Grants of BKA-Kunstsektion Austria 2000/2003, the Karl Hofer-Prize of the University of the Arts Berlin 2001, an Annual Grant from SKE-Fonds Vienna 2002, the DAAD Guest Artist Program Berlin 2003, and the Austrian State Scholarship for Composition 2004.

Bernhard Gal’s music has been published on several CDs, e.g. ‘bestimmung new york’ (Durian, Austria 1999), ‘Defragmentation/blue’ (Plate Lunch, Germany 2000), ‘relisten’ (Intransitive, USA 2001), ‘Hinaus:: In den, Wald.’ (Klanggalerie, Austria 2004).

October 1st, 8:30 PM

3 sets of improvised music featuring:
TV Pow ( Todd Carter, Brent Gutzeit, and Michael Hartman
- acoustic and electronic instruments )

Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello), Axel Doerner (trumpet),
Michael Zerang (percussion) and Jason Roebke (dbl. bass)

Bernhard Gal, Brian Labycz, Vadim Sprikut,
and Jason Soliday (all: live electronics)

Heaven Gallery
1550 North Milwaukee 2nd floor
Chicago, IL
www.heavengallery.com
Adm. $7.00