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Volker Goetze

Multimedia Artist Volker Goetze is a German-born, New York-based trumpeter, composer, and filmmaker. He performed and presented his work at leading venues and international festivals such as the Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Merkin Hall, West German Radio Station (WDR Cologne), Gasteig Munich, Sunset Paris, Jazzhouse Copenhagen, World festival of Sacred Music (Los Angeles) and the Opera Festival in Munich. His work bridges cultures creating contemporary cross-cultural dialogs across multiple disciplines incorporating cutting edge technology. His recent compositions don’t fit in any singular category as they derive from folklore music, rock, jazz, contemporary music, classical as well as baroque music. In the recent years he has been investigating the oral culture and story telling of West Africa and their influences on Jazz and Black Culture in America. GRIOT, a feature documentary on the oral music tradition in West Africa, is Volker Goetze's debut as a film director and has since developed into a multi media performance symphony documentary. Mr. Goetze held many master classes and was invited as a Panelist from such distinguished Institution as the Apollo Theatre, New York Foundation for the Arts abd the Flaherty Film Seminar.

Awards

2012

The World's DJ Picks: Favorite Recordings of 2012 #1 voted by Tom Schnabel
#1 album on iTunes France in World Music Section
BNP Parisbas Foundation Support for New Release Amanké Dionti
GRIOT – feature documentary nominated for “History in Time” - prize
Film-festivals appearances including concert performances:
Vancouver International Film Festival (CA)
Warsaw Film Festival (PL)
Valladolid (ESP)
Africa in Motion (UK)
International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (NE)

2011
free109point3 Transmission Art, Distribution Grant

2010
New York State Counsel on the Arts Grant for Feature Documentary
New York State Counsel on the Arts Grant for Interactive Multimedia Symphony
New York Foundation for the Arts Opportunity Grant

2009
International Franz Josef Reinl Composition Prize, Munich
New York Foundation for the Arts Immigrant Artist Fellow
9th Independent Music Awards Nomination for best traditional world music

2007
BMI Jazz Composers Workshop Fellowship (Broadcast Music Inc.), New York

2005
BMI Composition Competition, 2nd place at Charlie Parker/Many Alban, New York

2002
DAAD fellowship for a master’s degree at the Aaron Copland School of Music

1999
Dr. Konrad Kraemer Cultural Prize

Gear

Bach Stradivarius 37*
Yamaha Flugelhorn
Mouthpieces: Monette / Warburton

Volker Goetze and Ablaye Cissoko, Duo Which Earned Critical Acclaim for Their Debut CD, "Sira," Launch International Tour in October

Source: GoMedia PR
September 29, 2011

October 13 Show, at Culture Hub in NYC, Will Debut Goetze's Mande Symphony, A Multi-Media Event Featuring String Quartet, drummer Richie Barshay, and Visualist Joshue Ott Duo, Performing Music from Sira, Will Also Appear at the Dalai Lama's Festival of Sacred Music in Los Angeles Sira, the first recorded collaboration from German-born and NY-based trumpeter Volker Goetze and Senegalese kora player and singer/griot Ablaye Cissoko, earned the exceptional duo a spate of critical acclaim and soared to the #2 position ...
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Recording

Ablaye Cissoko & Volker Goetze Blend Ancient African Traditions with Contemporary

Source: GoMedia PR
September 20, 2008

It would seem that a Senegalese griot singer who plays the traditional West African 21-stringed kora would have little to discuss musically with a German-born, New York-based jazz trumpeter. But today’s cross-cultural fusions often transcend both geography and genre, and whether it was fate or design that brought together Ablaye Cissoko and Volker Goetze, it is we who are the beneficiaries. On October 14 in the USA and Canada, ObliqSound will release the duo’s album Sira, a stunning collection of ...
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2012-09-01 World Music Central Review "Amanké Dionti is incredibly melodic and beautiful...Goetze's trumpet is soft and evocative...Together with Cissoko's storyteller vocals and kora lines, the music is captivating and dreamy."

2012-08-27 eMusic Review "their newest album Amanke Dionti continues to illustrate their sublime mix of trumpet, kora, and vocals."

2012-07-30 Review Encyclotronica Encyclotronica calls Amanke Dionti "one of the most different and most beautiful CDs of 2012...The combination of Cissoko's intricate kora playing and soulful singing, tinged by Goetze's trumpet melancholy is already the most sublime album of the year.

2012-08-27 eMusic Review "their newest album Amanke Dionti continues to illustrate their sublime mix of trumpet, kora, and vocals."

2012-07-02 Global Village played selections from Amanke Dionti for their 7/2 show celebrating the letter A.

2012-07-01 Amanke Dionti is #4 in the list of Echoes' Top 25 for July The pair stopped by the Echoes Living Room for a performance this past month, in which the site wrote "Ablaye Cissoko & Volker Goetze were searingly melodic and soulful in a live performance of African serenity."

2012-07-01 Amanke Dionti is reviewed in the summer issue of Os Place: "Their music is quiet, peaceful and rich with warm textures...Amanke Dionti is a refreshing change of pace."

2012-06-25 Global Village highlighted Amanke Dionti in their Afrobeat and funk influenced albums feature.

2012-06-14 Musicians from Germany and Senegal Collaborate for ‘Amanké Dionti’ Amanke Dionti was featured on PRI's The World. Listen to the spot here.

2012-05-21 Ablaye Cissoko and Volker Goetze – Amanké Dionti [enhanced CD] – Motéma Doug Simpson of Audiophile Audition gives Amanke Dionti 3.5 stars and writes, "the pairing...results in music of sublime spirituality, where introspection and space give a feeling of rumination, meditation and intimate interchange."

2012-05-18 New CD Reviews for 5-18-12 Steven Stone of Audiophile Review said "Beautifully recorded, the sound here is lusher than a tropical rainforest." & gave a Rating Overall - 8, Sonically - 9

2012-05-16 Stunning New Record by Kora Virtuoso and German Trumpet Player Rhythm Planet's Tom Schnabel (of KCRW / NPR) hails Amanké Dionti as a "Stunning New Record"

2012-05-10 Ablaye Cissoko / Volker Goetze: Amanke Dionti (2012) Dan Bilawsky of All About Jazz says "Amanke Dionte is the most curiously beautiful release to hit shelves in the first half of 2012... a musical revelation and a testament to the skills its two sublimely gifted architects."

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Primary Instrument

Trumpet

Location

New York City

Clinic/Workshop Information

“Future of Music” – Apollo Theatre, Harlem, New York - Guest Panelist “Cross Disciplinary Filmmaking” - New York Foundation for the Arts - Guest Panelist Workshops and Lectures - Penn State University NYU, Jazz Combo, substitute teacher