Heinrich Unterhofer, born in 1958 in Sarentino (BZ/Italy), began his studies of music at the Conservatory Monteverdi of Bolzano (I) and afterwards earned the Diploma in composition at the Conservatory „G.Verdi“ in Milan, studying under Maestro Azio Corghi. He studied also conducting with Maestro Edgar Seipenbusch in Innsbruck (A).
He is a composer of orchestral music, chamber music and Symphonic Band music which has been performed in several countries of Europe and America, and has won several prizes of national and international level such as „L’Ulivo D’Oro“ („The golden olive-tree“) in Imperia (I), the „Tiroler Gedenkjahr 84” („The memory year 84 of Tyrol”) in Bolzano (I), the „G.B.Viotti” prize in Vercelli (I), the „La Ville de Bagneux” („The city of Bagneux”) in Paris (F), the ”Città di Trieste” („The city of Trieste”) (I), the „Ibla Award” in New York (USA) and 2021 the 4th International competition for band composition „Angelo Inglese” Bari (I) with the Symphonic Piece „ The Descent of Inanna into the Netherworld”.
He has composed also pieces of music for theatre such as a musical comedy for children „Ufo” and the opera „Der grosse Mäuseprozess zu Glurns” („The big mice-trial of Glurns”). His experimental music has been performed in important exhibitions like „Musica x occhi” („Music for eyes”) and „Words Place” at the Museum of Modern Art of Ginevra (CH) and the „Exhibition seven sins” at the „Museion” of Bolzano (I).
Unterhofer has extended his work to the medium of film and video art, and is very successful in both disciplines, as attested to by his performances at the „TV Zero“ festival in Merano, at „Rimusicazioni Harlock“ in Bolzano and at the international „Religion Today“ festival in Trento. His work „Train“ from his multimedia opera „Borderline“ will first be broadcast exclusively by ORF (Austrian Broadcasting and Television). Beside his important activity as a composer he is also a conductor of orchestra, and he is keen to realise new musical projects as much as possible together with repertoire music. Exemples of this work are the „multimedia” opera „Borderline”, the Swedish Musical „Elvira Madigan”, which he orchestrated and conducted, and the sacral opera „Requiem-Genesis”, which he composed, conducted and stage-set.
His music is present in important festivals of contemporary music. Heinrich Unterhofer had several recording made for Rai (Italian Broadcasting and Television), for the „ORF” and is published by Pizzicato-Helvetia (Udine-Horgen) and M. Boario (Torino). Since 2023 he has been working with the South Tyrolean music publisher MUNODI Edition.
From 1993 to 1995 Heinrich Unterhofer was Artistic Director of the Music Department at the SKB (Südtiroler Künstlerbund – South Tyrolean Artists’ Association) in Bolzano. From 2014-2017 he was Director at the Conservatory „C. Monteverdi” of Bolzano. For the school year 2018/19, he received a teaching assignment in the department of media production „Freies Projekt“ at the Hochschule OWL in Detmold (Germany). Since 1992 he has been professor of composition at the Conservatory „C. Monteverdi” of Bolzano.