Gregor Huebner

Gregor Huebner (born May 23, 1967) is a violinist, pianist and composer. He performs solo and with several ensembles including El Violin Latino, Sirius Quartet, Berta Epple and Salsafuerte. From 1985 to 2012 he was a member of . He is a professor of composition at the University for Music and Theater in Munich, Germany. In 2017 he received the Grand Prize for New York Philharmonic's New World Initiative Composition Challenge for his composition “New World, Nov 9. 2016.”
Life and work.
Following his graduation from the Ravensburger Spohn school, Huebner studied classical violin, jazz piano and composition at the Conservatories of Vienna and Stuttgart with Florian Auer Two and Gerhard Voss.
In 1985, Huebner and his brother began performing with Tango Five. The band performed both at the World Exhibition 1992 (Seville) and 2000 (Hanover) and at the 2004 Athens Olympics. They also appeared at the 1998 Tango Festival in Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Tango Five disbanded in 2012. Three members (Bobbi Fischer, Gregor Huebner and Veit Hübner) created a new group called Berta Epple in 2012.
In 1996, he began collaborating with pianist Richie Beirach. Their album "Round About Frederik Mompou" was nominated for the Latin Grammy 2002. Other recordings include "Round About Bartok" released in March 2000 (ACT company), Beirach/Huebner/Mraz "Round about Monteverdi" in 2003 and Duo Beirach/Huebner "Duality" (Niveau Records) in 2007.
In 1997, he began work with Johnny Almendra on three albums "Los Jovenes del Barrio", "Eye Contact" and "Son Radical". He played with Randy Brecker, John Patitucci, Billy Hart, Mark Feldman, Smokey Robinson, David Darling, Uri Caine, Tim Hagans and the Absolut Ensemble. He recorded with Joe Zawinul and Diane Reeves.
In 2009, he released "Exercises, Etudes and Concert Pieces" with Advanced Music and Eric Carle's "Ich habe die Geige klingen sehen" at the Gerstenberg Verlag. In the same year he published his orchestra compositions at Norsk Musikvorlag. In the same year he scored the movie "Bergwehen" for the German movie channel ZDF together with Gerd Baumann. The movie was nominated for the German TV Awards in 2011.
Huebner's critically acclaimed Latin Jazz album "El Violin Latino" was released in 2011. The Latin Jazz Network selected it as a Noteworthy Recording of 2011 and the album won Nr. 3 Best CD in 2011 on WBGO New York. He is currently recording a new album entitled "El Violin Latino - Vol 2". The album features musicians—Johnny Almendra, Latin percussion, Klaus Mueller, piano, Ruben Rodriguez, bass, Louis Bauzo, Latin percussion, Jerome Goldschmidt, percussion, Marcos Napa, Afro-Peruvian percussion and Karen Joseph, flute—performing new arrangements of Cuban, Brazilian & Tango Music. It is expected to be released in the fall of 2015.
Musical style.
Huebner's style as a composer is a mix of his musical heritage, the folk music of eastern Europe, his studies of contemporary music and "Neue Music" in Vienna and Stuttgart. While studying and living in New York City he focused on Jazz Improvisation and developed a keen interest in different kinds of world music particularly Latin American music styles. As a violinist and pianist he performs all of these styles with his groups, El Violin Latino, Sirius Quartet, Berta Epple, Richie Beirach Duo/Quartet, his own NY-NRG Quartet and his newly founded Munich Composers Collective.
Prizes, awards, and commissions.
Huebner has been lauded with awards in Europe and the United States including the Jazz award of the State Baden-Württemberg in 1998 and the "President’s Award" of the Manhattan School of Music in 1996. In 2017 he was awarded the Grand Prize for New York Philharmonic’s New World Initiative Composition Challenge for his composition “New World, Nov 9. 2016.”
He has written commission for Intentional Bachakademie in Stuttgart, Germany, Grand Theatre Luxemburg, Musikfest Stuttgart 2010, Tribeka New Music Festival 2012, a piano concerto for Musikfest Stuttgart in 2013. He 2014 he was commissioned to compose a lyrical setting of poems by William Blake written for Sirius Quartet and the Stuttgart Collegium Iuvenum Boys Choir and an orchestral composition for the Radio Symphonie Orchester and the SWR Big Band.
His works have been premiered by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Landesakademie Ochsenhausen, and his string quartet “NYC” premiered at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
Huebner has performed in Jazz festivals around the globe including Cork (Ireland), Tbilisi (Georgia), Montreux, New York (JVC, Bell Atlantic), Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA (Tango Festival), Stuttgart, Germany (Jazz Open) and Porto (Portugal). Sirius Quartet performed at the Taichung Jazz Festival, Taiwan's largest jazz event, in 2013 and 2014. The 2014 Festival opened with a performance by English Jazz Pianist John Escreet performing with Sirius Quartet.
He has performed at major concert halls around the globe including Carnegie Hall, Apollo Theater, Berlin Philharmonie, Frauenkirche in Dresden, Gewandhaus Leipzig. Each summer he participates in an International Summer Music Festival in Messinia, Greece.