Volker Goetze

Artist, composer and trumpeter Volker Goetze arrived in New York 22 years ago. His contribution to the art world and city are multifaced. He recently produced New York City's first Sound Sculpture Walk (Sonic Gates), toured the globe for over 14 years with his transcultural Afican-Harp and trumpet duo with griot and kora virtuoso Ablaye Cissoko, released multiple jazz albums including large ensembles and orchestral while also creating feature documentaries - uplifting and inspiring communities and fans. In his own words: "With each new composition, film or project, I expand my vocabulary and skill set as an artist: I search for ways to express my vision by stretching musical boundaries, expanding into community art and social art and creating my own set of rules. I’ve never been an artist who neatly fits into a box or a clearly defined category of music or film. Looking back, I now realize that simply being an international performing artist, composer, or filmmaker is not satisfying to me. My motivation for everything I do is to give back to the community and touch people through my work in unforeseen ways – ways I cannot predict as the need for a particular work comes to me as a task challenging me, my ideas and knowledge."