BIO
The Composer's Background
Ari Barack Fisher is a multi-award-winning composer who aims to connect with listeners through evocative melodies and intricate harmonies. In 2025, Fisher was commissioned by the United Nations to arrange Pablo Casals' Hymn to the United Nations in honor of the organization's 80th anniversary. That same year, he won 1st prize in The 3rd Vienna International Arnold Rosé Violin Competition's Composition Competition and 1st prize in the 2nd International ArtePiano Composer's Competition. His works Makhzorim: Jewish Cycles and Psalm 27 for Hazzan, Choir, and Orchestra, the latter being a finalist for the 2026 Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music, reflect his deep engagement with Jewish musical heritage through a contemporary compositional lens.
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An avid collaborator, Fisher has worked on projects ranging from feature-length films to video game soundtracks. In 2015, Fisher received the inaugural Jon Vickers Film Scoring Award for his score to the 1916 silent film "The Return of 'Draw' Egan" by William S. Hart. In 2019, the score was revised for the restored Library of Congress version of Hart's film featuring newly discovered footage and scene swaps. The LOC version of the score had its European premiere at the 2019 Pordenone Silent Film Festival (Le Giornate del Cinema Muto). In 2021, Fisher collaborated with the renowned crossover string quartet ATLYS and Jeff Montalvo (Seven Lions) in arranging string quartet covers of EDM songs by Seven Lions for performances at Red Rocks Amphitheater and The Gorge Amphitheater. Fisher's arrangements featuring ATLYS were then recorded and released by Ophelia Records in an album titled OPUS. In 2024, Fisher won the commission prize to compose music and write lyrics for Indiana University Jacobs School of Music's fight song, Sound Off the Carillon.
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Recently, Fisher's composition Romance for Cello and Piano was recorded by Warren Hagerty (Verona Quartet/Principal Cello Pacific Symphony) and Orli Shaham, and released on the Pacific Symphony's album American Tapestry. He released an album of original compositions for string quartet titled The Sonnenberg Suite on November 16th, 2024, recorded with ATLYS and Grammy Award-winning producer Adam Abeshouse. In 2023, Fisher was hired to compose two tracks for a special edition of the popular video game Bread and Fred. That same year, ZREO: Second Quest collaborated with ATLYS to release the album Fair Winds and Following Seas. Fisher also serves as co-founder, music director, lead composer, and arranger for ZREO: Second Quest, a company that creates interpretations of music from the Legend of Zelda video game series. He is also composer-in-residence and section violinist of The Artemis Chamber Orchestra. Fisher's music is published and distributed by Songburd Music.
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Fisher's teachers and mentors include David Taylor (Assistant Concertmaster, Chicago Symphony Orchestra), Michelle Szamarzewska Wynton, Michel Merlet, Sven-David Sandström, Narcis Bonet, Claude Baker, Aaron Travers, Don Freund, and Rick Marvin. His works have been performed by ATLYS, Seven Lions (Jeff Montalvo), Woori Orchestra, Artemis Chamber Orchestra, Budapest Scoring Orchestra, Indiana University Chamber Orchestra, New Trier Symphony Orchestra, Hawaii Youth Symphony, Hawaii Music Educators Association Honors Orchestra, Naples Community Orchestra, and members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Other works have been performed by violinists Richard Silvers and Jorja Fleezanis, pianists Norman Kreiger, Nicholas Ho, and Clare Longendyke, vocalist Laurie Rubin, and conductors Jim Setapen, Alvin Ho, Nicholas Hersh, Joseph Stepec, and Henry Cheng. Venues include Teatro Verdi (Pordenone Silent Film Festival), Red Rocks Amphitheater, The Gorge Amphitheater, Ravinia Music Festival, and The Seoul Arts Center. His concert works have been performed in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Taiwan, and across the United States. His music has been featured across the nation in television ads.
Fisher holds a Bachelor and Master of Music from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He currently resides in Skokie, Illinois with his wife Jamie, their son Chaim, and dog Birdie.