Biography

Born into a musical family, Friedrich Heinrich Kern wrote music from early childhood. Kern holds degrees in piano and composition from Mannheim University of Music in Germany, where his principal teachers included Rudolf Meister, Ok-hi Lee and Ulrich Leyendecker. With a scholarship from the Baden-Wuerttemberg Foundation, he pursued additional studies with Alvin Lucier at Wesleyan University. In 2006-2007, Friedrich Heinrich Kern spent one year studying traditional Korean music at Seoul National University in Korea on a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service and Seoul National University.

His creative output spans a wide range of music: works for orchestra, film, and dance, both electronic and instrumental music. Much of his work draws from literary or visual stimuli and is inspired by close artistic collaborations. Recent compositions include Essence, 
a ballet music for chamber ensemble, first performed with a choreography by members of the Ehwa Ballet Company in Seoul, Korea. Anima features a komungo player, accompanied by a speaker system. His Almost Romance, a tuba concerto, was premiered in 2007, as well as Ellipses for violin and piano, which has been recorded by the South German Radio.

Friedrich Heinrich Kern returned to the United States in 2008 to concentrate on his growing compositional activities, and his works now attract considerable attention, with performances and commissions by prestigious ensembles like the JACK String Quartet or Ensemble Either/Or. Awarded a MacCracken Fellowship from New York University, he lives and works in New York City.