Barash, Omer

Omer Barash was born in 1995 in Israel. He began his composition training at the Israel Arts and Science Academy (IASA) high school. After that, he graduated from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where he was part of the Tedarim Program of Contemporary Music. He later pursued further studies at McGill University, where he also served as President of the McGill Association of Student Composers and earned his master’s degree. Subsequently, he obtained his postgraduate diploma in electroacoustic composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and completed his Cursus de composition et d’informatique musicale at IRCAM, Paris. Currently, he is a doctoral fellow in Composition at Columbia University in the City of New York.

His music often delves into themes of betweenness and identity, exploring both their sonic and conceptual dimensions. Much of his work is inspired by his interpretations of Hebrew texts and traditions, as well as the auditory landscapes that surround him. This approach has led to projects that bridge ancient manuscripts and digital signal processing. Barash is also actively involved as a computer music designer. He has been honoured with numerous prizes and awards, including the 1st prize of the 28th Salvatore Martirano Award (2024), 1st prize of the Ensemble Écoute Composition Competition (2024), the “Achievement of the Year” award from ACUM (Israel’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers, 2024), 3rd prize of the SunRiver International Composition Contest (2021), the Svoboda Memorial Prize from McGill University (2020), the 1st prize of the Klon Award for emerging composers from the Israel Composers League (2019), and merit grants from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation (2018-2025), among others.