Sarah Nemtsov

Born in 1980 in Oldenburg. Sarah Nemtsov studied composition in Hanover and Berlin with Nigel Osborne, Johannes Schöllhorn and Walter Zimmermann, as well as oboe with Klaus Becker and Burkhard Glaetzner. She has received numerous prizes and scholarships, including the Busoni Composition Prize and the GEMA German Music Authors’ Prize. In 2021 she was accepted as a member of the Saxon Academy of Arts and the Berlin Academy of Arts, and in 2025 she received the Heidelberg Artist Award. She works with renowned ensembles and orchestras (WDR Symphony Orchestra, HR Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Sinfonieorchester, RSO Wien, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Klangforum Wien, ensemble mosaik, Ensemble Adapter, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart etc.). Her works are performed at internationally renowned festivals such as the Donaueschinger Musiktage, Darmstadt Summer Course, Wien modern, ECLAT, Ultraschall, Musica, Bregenzer Festspiele, Münchener Biennale, Ruhrtriennale and many more. Nemtsov’s music captivates through sensitively eavesdropped setups, complex and energetic textures, musical layering and interactions between acoustic instruments and electronics. Literature or other arts often play a role, and several compositions also touch on political or social themes. Her catalog of works includes over 150 compositions in almost all genres; from solo works to large orchestras, acoustic, electronic and multimedia, including several full-length operas. Her fourth full-length opera “WE” will premiere at the Theater Dortmund in 2026. Her works are published by Ricordi. In 2014 Sarah Nemtsov taught composition as a guest lecturer at the Cologne University of Music, in 2018 she taught composition at Haifa University with a DAAD short-term lectureship. Since the winter semester 2022, she has been Professor of Composition at the Mozarteum University Salzburg.

In 2025, Sarah Nemtsov will be a tutor at the Darmstadt Summer Course for the third time.