Biography

Ulrich Alexander Kreppein, born in 1979, started his musical education already in his childhood studying Piano, Violoncello, Churchorgan as well as Composition in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, where he grew up. After finishing high school, he studied at Robert Schumann Music University (Musikhochschule) in Düsseldorf: Composition with Prof. Manfred Trojahn, Piano with Prof. Thomas Leander as well as Musicology with Prof. Andreas Ballstaedt. After further studying Composition with Prof. Tristan Murail at Columbia University in New York during 2003-2004, he completed his Diploma in Düsseldorf in January 2005. In 2006 he began his doctoral studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, and completed his Ph.D in composition in May 2011. At Harvard he worked with Julian Anderson, Brian Ferneyhough, Chaya Czernowin, Hans Tutschku, Joshua Fineberg and Helmut Lachenmann.

Since his early ages, Ulrich Alexander Kreppein was awarded several prizes such as Bundeswettbewerb Jugend komponiert (National Competition for Young Composers) in 1998 and 1999 and the Andreas Werckmeisterpreis of the City of Halberstadt for an orchestral composition. More recently he was awarded the Saarbrückener Komponistenwerkstatt (Composers Workshop Saarbrücken) in 2001 and a third prize at the Musica Sacra Competition in Poland in 2005. In 2008 he was selected as a finalist for the International Tactus Competition in Mons, Belgium. Ulrich Kreppein received commissions by the ROC-GmbH Berlin, the Callithumpian Consort in Boston, the Britten Sinfonia in Cambridge and the SWR Stuttgart among others.

He was awarded scholarships from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes (2002 to 2005), the DAAD (2003/04) and from the Academy for Contemporary Music Theatre of the Deutsche Bank Foundation (2009 to 2011). He participated at the summer courses of Acanthes in 2008 and is currently a presidential Fellow at Harvard University. In 2009 he was awarded at the Orchestra Workshop in Stuttgart, Germany, and was a finalist at the international Isang Yun Competition, Seoul, South Korea. He received a scholarship from the Academy of Fine Arts Berlin for 2011. Also he was selected for a residency grant at the Künstlerhof Schreyahn for spring 2012.

His music has been performed in many places such as the Berliner Philharmonie and the Carnegie Hall in New York, as well as in Moscow, Düsseldorf, Munich, London and Cambridge, Massachusetts. His works include orchestra, operas as well as chamber music.