Prof. Mark Pogolski

Mark Pogolski studied composition with Prof. Sergei Slonimsky and conducting with Prof. Yuri Serebryakov at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire in St Petersburg. He subsequently continued his composition studies with Prof. Dieter Acker at the University of Music and Theater Munich, whilst also studying piano with Hanae Nakajima at the Nuremberg-Augsburg University of Music.

Pogolski has received several awards for his compositional work, including the Young Philharmonic Orchestra of Brandenburg’s Composition Prize in 2001 and first prize at the International Alfred-Schnittke-Kompositionswettbewerb in Moscow in 2002. His diverse body of work includes orchestral works, ballets, and music for stage and dance theatre, amongst which are the ballets »Cinderella«, »Nosferatu« and »ALPassioni«.

As a performer of historical film music, Pogolski performs internationally with the Zimmermann Ensemble and has appeared at numerous festivals. He has also produced several DVDs featuring historical and newly composed film music.

As a conductor, he has led, amongst other works, the chamber opera ‘Wertheriade’ and the contemporary world premiere of Carlo Coccia’s opera »Caterina di Guisa«.

At the HMTM, Pogolski teaches interdisciplinary composition, music theory and improvisation. He served as a visiting professor at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in 2020 and 2024, and at the Mongolian State Conservatory in 2023 and 2025. Since 2009, he has been the musical director of the Ballet Academy and leads the VOLTA Ensemble, which he founded in 2019.