Osnat Netzer
Osnat Netzer is a composer, performer, and educator whose music is defined by dynamic collaboration and an embodied sense of sound. Drawing inspiration from cognitive linguistics and physical forces—such as potential and kinetic energy—Netzer composes works that respond intimately to the physicality, sensibilities, and improvisational instincts of her collaborators. The result is music that is rich in expressive gesture, textural contrast, and a visceral play of tension and release.
Born in Haifa, Israel, Netzer studied composition and piano at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where she studied with Menachem Zur, and moved to the U.S. in 2003 to pursue graduate studies in composition with Robert Cuckson at the Mannes School of Music. She completed her doctorate at the New England Conservatory under Lee Hyla in 2011. Since 2019, she has been a member of the composition faculty at DePaul University, where she is currently Associate Professor of Composition and Musicianship.
Netzer’s works have been commissioned and performed by ensembles and artists such as Ensemble Dal Niente, International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Patchwork, Spektral Quartet, Winsor Music, mezzo-soprano Lucy Dhegrae, bass David Salsbery Fry, and saxophonists Kenneth Radnofsky, Doug O’Connor, and Geoffrey Landman. Her music is published by Edition Peters and earthsongs, and recorded on Bridge Records and New Focus Recordings.
Her opera The Wondrous Woman Within was described as “riotously funny” by The New York Times following its VOX Festival premiere at New York City Opera, and as “challenging and fascinating” by critic Amir Kidron after its sold-out world premiere at Tel Aviv’s Cameri Theatre in 2015.
As a pianist and conductor, Netzer is an active interpreter of contemporary music, performing both her own compositions and the works of fellow composers. A passionate educator, she is a longtime faculty member at The Walden School, and has taught at New England Conservatory, Longy School of Music of Bard College, and Harvard University.
For new commissions, performance inquiries, curatorial opportunities and appearances please contact Owen Summers: owen@summersartistservices.com
Works
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Meditations on Oummi (2024)
for String QuartetDuration: 6.5 minutes
Premiere: February 15, 2025, Mivos Quartet, Chicago, IllinoisComposed in the wake of the October 7th anniversary, this work offers a personal response to the grief, loss, and dehumanization felt on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was inspired by a Standing Together event in Chicago, part of a grassroots movement uniting Arab and Jewish communities in the pursuit of peace and social justice. At that gathering, the composer and violinist Sam Hyson performed Marcel Khalife’s Oummi, based on a poem by Mahmoud Darwish. The poem speaks of longing for a mother—for her bread, her coffee, her presence—and in those nine minutes, something shifted. The music opened space for recognition, vulnerability, and shared humanity. This new work, based on the Khalife composition, emerges from that moment and stands as an intimate meditation on mourning and compassion. Commissioned for and dedicated to the Mivos Quartet.
Pulpo (2024)
for Oboe, Horn, Percussion & ViolaDuration: 6.5 minutes
Premiere: October 5, 2024, Members of the Grossman Ensemble, Chicago, IllinoisCommissioned for the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition’s Tapas concert, this quartet for four players and eight hands is an homage to the octopus—an intelligent, fluid, and dexterous creature. The piece explores the physical independence of instrumental technique, as well as harmonic shape-shifting through Neo-Riemannian transformations. Its opening gesture, a “Slide,” evokes the octopus’s slithering across the sea floor.
Datsuzoku (2022)
for Clarinet, Harp & String QuartetDuration: 18 minutes
Premiere: May 13, 2023, Kassia Ensemble, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaInspired by the Zen principle datsuzoku—freedom from habit—this five-movement work explores the evolving relationship between humans and gardens. Early movements depict distinct garden spaces, while later ones trace a journey through them, culminating in a final integration of human and natural worlds.
I won’t be outrun by a cavalry of snails (2021)
for 2 sop, fl(pic.afl), cl(bcl), pf, vln, vla, vlcDuration: 11.5 minutes
Premiere: June 26, 2021, Ensemble Dal Niente, Evanston, IllinoisCommissioned by Ensemble Dal Niente, this theatrical and psychedelic vocal work blurs the line between nonsense and meaning. Abstract sounds, rapid shifts in affect, and stream-of-consciousness text create a surreal world where language teeters on the edge of coherence—only to slip away into absurdity.
I AM FUCKING ZEN (2020)
for Saxophone QuartetDuration: 9 minutes
Premiere: November 7, 2021, ~Nois, Chicago, IllinoisWritten for ~Nois saxophone quartet, this piece explores the tension between inner calm and external chaos through a process-driven structure. Major and minor triads collide with microtonal lines, mirroring the psychological strain of quarantine and the surreal stillness of a pandemic. Virtuosic, volatile, and razor-sharp, it channels the dissonance of trying to stay Zen in a world unraveling.
Philomelos (2019)
for Mezzo-Soprano, Violin, Percussion & ElectronicsDuration: 16 minutes
Premiere: November 23, 2019, Lucy Dhegrae, mezzo-soprano, Amy Garapic, frame drum, Pala Garcia, violin, Brooklyn, New YorkConsume by… (2019)
for Fl, Cl (Bcl), Barsax (Ssax), Tbn, Perc, Pf, ElecB, Amplified VlcDuration: 15 minutes
Commissioned by and dedicated to saxophonist Doug O’Connor, this solo work explores the many meanings of “beat”—from acoustic interference and vibrato to embodied pulse and rhythmic transformation. Every musical element is filtered through the lens of rhythm, creating a sense of urgency that urges the listener to act, move, or reflect. Premiered at the Kennedy Center as part of “Saxophone Genesis: New Works,” the piece is a vivid meditation on time and motion.
They bury their dead with great ululations (2018)
for Oboe, Bass Clarinet, Violin & VioloncelloDuration: 11 minutes
Premiere: November 25, 2018, Brookline, MassachusettsCommissioned by Winsor Music, this piece draws on the ancient practice of ululation—communal, cathartic wailing—as both a metaphor and a musical gesture. It explores sound as a conduit for grief and joy, asking whether the same cry can hold both sorrow and hope, and whether art can summon the courage to express what words cannot.
meshulashim (2018)
for Bass Clarinet & MarimbaDuration: 12 minutes
Premiere: December 9, 2018, Transient Canvas, Boston, MassachusettsCommissioned by Transient Canvas, this abstract exploration of the triangle—meshulashim in Hebrew—unfolds through interlocking patterns of pitch, amplitude, timbre, and duration. As the piece evolves, these micro-triangular gestures coalesce into a larger palindromic structure, forming one expansive musical triangle.
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A Funkl Gleybik (2022)
for SATB Choir, 2 Violins, Clarinet, Trombone (or Bari Sax), Double Bass & PianoCommissioned by Boston’s Jewish Community Chorus, Koleinu, for their 20th anniversary, this work sets Yiddish poetry by Rosa Nevadovska, Anna Margolin, and Malka Heifetz Tussman in a three-movement arc of radiance, reflection, and wonder. Scored for chorus and klezmer ensemble (or flexible instrumentation), the piece blends choral warmth with instrumental playfulness in a celebration of awe, nature, and timelessness.
Disturbed Earth (2018)
Orchestration: SSAA Choir—1.1.1.1—1.0.0.0—Pf—Str
Duration: 15 minutes
Premiere: March 3, 2018, Radcliffe Choral Society with conductor Margaret Weckworth, Cambridge, MassachusettsPerusal Score | Listen
Submit Rental RequestCommissioned by the Radcliffe Choral Society Foundation, this setting of a Margaret Atwood poem explores resilience, control, and unexpected beauty through a blend of composed material and guided improvisation. A tribute to the women of RCS, the piece invites performers and audiences alike to embrace unpredictability and find power in the unplanned.
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Varium cæli (2019)
Orchestration: String Orchestra
Duration: 2 minutes
Premiere: September 27, 2019, ROCO with conductor Mei-Ann Chen, Houston, TexasPerusal Score | Listen
Submit Rental RequestCommissioned by River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, this orchestral work draws on the mercurial skies of a Vermont summer weekend, where sudden shifts in weather inspired a musical meditation on change—personal, environmental, and emotional. Written just weeks before a major life transition, it reflects the composer’s belief that true hope lies in deliberate action.
Disturbed Earth (2018)
Orchestration: SSAA Choir—1.1.1.1—1.0.0.0—Pf—Str
Duration: 15 minutes
Premiere: March 3, 2018, Radcliffe Choral Society with conductor Margaret Weckworth, Cambridge, MassachusettsPerusal Score | Listen
Submit Rental RequestCommissioned by the Radcliffe Choral Society Foundation, this setting of a Margaret Atwood poem explores resilience, control, and unexpected beauty through a blend of composed material and guided improvisation. A tribute to the women of RCS, the piece invites performers and audiences alike to embrace unpredictability and find power in the unplanned.
Luce Cantabile (2017)
Concerto for Alto Saxophone and ShadowOrchestration: Solo ASax—2(picc)2.2.Tsax.2(Cbsn)—2.2.0.0—Perc—Str
Duration: 23 minutes
Premiere: November 19, 2017, Bach, Beethoven & Brahms Society Orchestra with alto saxophonist Kenneth Radnofsky and conductor Steven Lipsitt, Boston, MassachusettsA concerto for alto saxophone and orchestra featuring a second saxophonist embedded in the ensemble as a “shadow,” this work explores the interplay of light and darkness, voice and echo. Across three movements, it moves from introspective lament to ecstatic motion, charting a journey through grief, memory, and resilience. Commissioned by the Fromm Music Foundation.
Perusal Score | Listen
Submit Rental RequestCommon Ground (2007)
Orchestration: 2(picc).2.2(bcl).2—2.0.0.0—Str
Duration: 8.5 minutess
Premiere: January 25, 2008, Boston Modern Orchestra Project with conductor Gil Rose, Boston, MassachusettsWritten for chamber orchestra, this energetic, pulse-driven work explores the interplay between melody and harmony, motion and structure. A steady stream of sixteenth notes creates a sense of urgency, while the music moves from linear, unison textures to dense vertical harmonies. Though contrasting in character, both sections reveal a shared foundation—melodic lines generate harmony, and chords imply melody. Scored with virtuosic equality across all instruments, the piece treats every player as a soloist, embodying its title through both musical and philosophical “common ground.”
Perusal Score | Listen
Submit Rental RequestTanso (2004, rev 2006, 2021)
Orchestration: Solo Amplified Violin—3(picc).2.Ca.3(bcl).2.Cbsn—4.3.2.Btbn.1—Timp.2 Perc—Pf—Str
Duration: 9.5 minutesPerusal Score | Listen
Submit Rental RequestMusic to a Poem by Avraham Chalfi (2003)
Orchestration: Mezzo-Soprano Solo—Cl(bcl)—Perc—Str
Duration: 11.5 minutes
Premiere: December 2003, Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance Orchestra with mezzo-sorano Iris Malkin, and conductor
Ram Reuven, Negev, Israel -
The Wondrous Woman Within (2008-11)
Opera in Two Acts
Duration: 1 hour 40 minutes
Premiere: November 14-15, 2025, Tel Aviv, IsraelA 100-minute comic opera for four singers, one actor, and 18 instrumentalists, The Wondrous Woman Within adapts Hanoch Levin’s absurdist play into a musically surreal farce of mistaken identity, desire, and disguise. Embracing theatrical devices from Brecht to Beckett, the work blends virtuosic ensemble writing with styles ranging from the familiar to the avant-garde. With an English performing translation, the opera introduces Levin’s razor-sharp wit and theatrical legacy to new audiences. Available in the original Hebrew and in an English performing translation by Elana M. Messer
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Monoblogue (2023)
for BassoonDuration: 5 minutes
Premiere: April 28, 2023, Ben Roidl-Ward, Chicago, IllinoisWritten for bassoonist Ben Roidl-Ward, this solo work reflects on the isolating effects of algorithm-driven echo chambers. The piece channels the voice of a "monoblogger" whose performative repetition spirals into distortion, amplifying bias and blurring the line between truth and spectacle.
Diaphanous Diaphony (2021)
for CelloDuration: 4.5 minutes
Composed for Matt Haimovitz’s Primavera Project, this solo cello work reimagines the dance of the Graces from Botticelli’s Primavera through the lens of kinetic energy, translucent sound, and historic texture. Using natural harmonics to evoke the “diaphanous” fabric of their movement, the piece merges Renaissance diaphony with contemporary technique—creating a sonic parallel to Charlene von Heyl’s visual reinterpretation of the Graces.
Contrapose (2020)
for Viola & PianoDuration: 9 minutes
This kinetic duo for viola and piano draws inspiration from Vijnana yoga, particularly the principles of rooting and connecting. With each gesture, the instruments embody opposing yet linked energies—downward grounding and upward expansion—mirroring the body's balance of motion and stillness.
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The Incarnation of a Shining Desert (2019)
for Mezzo-Soprano, Clarinet (Bass Clarinet) & PianoDuration: 8 Minutes
Commissioned for the “IDENTITY Project: NYC–Berlin–Tel Aviv,” this work for mezzo-soprano sets texts in Yiddish, Arabic, and Hebrew by Rivka Basman Ben-Haim, Amal Sh’abi Bishara, and Orin Rosner.