About
Douglas Hertz (b. 1993) is a composer, educator, and multi-instrumentalist based in Queens, NY.
Hertz uses sound as a medium to investigate experiences ranging from the personal to universal and from the physical to the spiritual. Through his work, he seeks to connect with audiences in a way that helps them better understand themselves, one another, and the world they inhabit.
photo by Lizzy Chiappini
His work has appeared on programs presented by the Aries Composers Festival, Midwest Composers Symposium, Nief Norf Summer Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, the Dynamic Music Festival, Bard College’s Music Alive series, the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, the Walden School, Periapsis Music and Dance, and the Deer Valley Music Festival. His work has been performed by Ensemble Dal Niente, Wet Ink Ensemble, Da Capo Chamber Players, American Symphony Orchestra, University of Michigan Philharmonia Orchestra, Vanguard Reed Quintet, Up/Down Percussion Quartet, BrassTaps Duo, Portland Percussion Group, and Front Porch Ensemble, among others.
Hertz is an avid collaborator and constantly seeks ways of broadening the context of his work beyond the concert hall. Recent collaborations include 2-1, a piece for dance and solo piano created with choreographer Janice Rosario, Saeculum, a cantata/dance piece created in collaboration with choreographer Al Evangelista, and Household, an art/sound installation by Hertz and performance group, Call Your Mom.
Hertz completed his undergraduate degree at Bard College and earned a masters degree in music composition from the University of Michigan. His past teachers have included Kristin Kuster, Evan Chambers, Bright Sheng, George Tsontakis, Joan Tower, Kyle Gann, and Janet Weir.
Ever committed to sharing the joy of music-making and creating in all of its forms, Hertz teaches general music and chorus at Hillside Elementary School in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. He previously taught music theory and composition at the Thurnauer School of Music in Tenafly, NJ, with the New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers Program in New York, NY, and at the Walden School in Dublin, NH. He is a New York State licensed music teacher, grades K-12. For information about private lessons, please get in touch by clicking here.