People

Omar Zubair

After writing his first book Disorientation Therapy in 2007, Omar Zubair found that the closer to the core of being he looked, the more blurry it became; so he began to listen to it, instead. And ever since, listening has become his primary compositional technique — whether creating a theatrical score with The Wooster Group or building a sound installation for a national historic landmark, whether sound designing for a blind choreographer so that she can continually orient toward the audience or improvising with a dance class at Julliard to coax authentic movement out of each student, whether making music to help people grieve at a funeral or celebrate at a wedding. He lets the ear hear twice before acting once. He has helped found composer collectives across multiple countries in order to promote radical empathy and empower active listening. Some places his works have been presented are Le Grand Palais & Le Centre Pompidou in Paris, The Guggenheim and Lincoln Center in New York, The Disney Concert Hall and Young Projects in Los Angeles, The Schaubuhne and Kunsthalle Dessau in Berlin.