Mark Pogolski

Mark Pogolski

Musical Director, the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich

Mark Pogolski was born in 1977 in St. Petersburg and first studied mathematics at the State University in his hometown, while also studying composition with Prof. Sergei Slonimsky and conducting with Prof. Yuri Serebryakov at the Rimski-Korsakov Conservatory. With Prof. Dieter Acker at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich he continued his studies in composition to completion in 2002. Simultaneously, he pursued his training as a piano major at the Academy of Music in Nuremberg-Augsburg with Hanae Nakajima.
Mark Pogolski pursued an intense activity as a composer and quickly found recognition in this field: in 2001 he was awarded the Composition Advancement Prize from the Young Philharmonic Brandenburg and received a commission to compose a Capriccio for symphony orchestra which would be premiered in the Berlin Konzerthaus, led by Sebastian Weigle. In 2002 he received the first prize of the International Alfred Schnittke Composition Competition in Moscow. In cooperation with choreographer Kirill Melnikov, Mark Pogolski composed, on behalf of the city of Ingolstadt 2008, the Ballet “Cinderella”. In 2010 another of his works, the Ballet “Nosferatu”, had its premier with success in Munich. 2012 he wrote stage music for Ballet “Midsummer Night's Dream alla Bavarese” and 2015 – in cooperation with composer Bernd Redmann – dance theatre “Gradus ad parnassum” (both premiered in Prinzregententheater, Munich). In the season 2016/17 the second version of his ballet “Cinderella” with the new choreography by Heinz Manniegel has been several times performed in Munich.
With Violinist Sabrina Zimmermann, Mark Pogolski has made a name as a live interpreter of historical film scores and member of the renowned Zimmermann-Ensemble. In the last years he was invited with ensemble to numerous international film festivals in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Scotland, Czech Republic and China.
2014 Mark Pogolski participated in the production of the chamber opera “Wertheriade” (staged by Nicolas Trees) as musical director with performances among others in the Esterhazy Palace (Austria) and Auditorio Nacional de Musica in Madrid. 2015 he was composer in residence by 4th International Conductors Masterclass "El Escorial" in Spain. 2017 he conducted the contemporary premiere of original version of Carlo Coccia's opera "Caterina di Guisa". 2020 he was guest lecturer at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.
Since 2009 Mark Pogolski is the musical director and since 2018 member of the board of directors of the Ballet Academy at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, where he teaches music theory and improvisation, and also leads the VOLTA Chamber Orchestra, which was founded in spring 2019 after his initiative.