Ralf Yusuf Gawlick, born in Pfaffenhofen-an-der-Ilm, Germany in 1969, is of Kurdish descent but has never lived in his ethnic homeland or in the town where he was born. Educated in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Austria, Poland and the United States, Prof. Gawlick holds degrees from the University of California Santa Barbara, the University of Texas at Austin and the New England Conservatory of Music. Similarly, his music travels far afield by drawing inspiration from and engaging with literary, visual and musical landscapes both in time and place. This dialogue across centuries and among the arts informs much of his solo, chamber, orchestral, film and vocal music. Performed throughout the United States and Europe and broadcast on American National Public Radio, his works have received numerous accolades including awards and fellowships from the International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM), the Massachusetts Cultural Council, ASCAP as well as support and sponsorship from the German Consulate General and the German Embassy (Washington DC). His music is available through Brazinmusikanta Publications and the American Music Center and released on Capstone Records and Musica Omnia. Ralf Yusuf Gawlick teaches at Boston College and lives in Newton, MA, with his wife Basia and their two children.