Kai Johannes Polzhofer was born in Munich, Germany in 1989. The German-Austrian composer received his earliest composition lessons with Prof. Kay Westermann and many years of instrumental training in trumpet and piano as well as conducting with, among others, Martina Bauer (Musikhochschule München) and Markus Rainer (Munich Philharmonic). Between 2004 and 2008 he attended the philosophy department of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich as a guest student. After graduating from the classical grammar school of Benedictines in St. Ottilien, Bavaria, he continued his studies in philosophy, music theory and composition at the Universities and Conservatories of Graz, Austria and Leipzig, Germany. In 2013 he graduated both with high distinction from University Leipzig (B.A. in Philosophy) and Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (Diploma in Composition). His fellowships and prizes include Austromechana, Academy Schloss Solitude, International Summeracademy Prag, Wien, Budapest, and the Francis Boott Prize. He received a national scholarship (“Deutschlandstipendium”) and is the cofounder and artistic advisor of forma Leipzig. Mr. Polzhofer's music has been broadcast in Austria and Germany (Ö1, MDR) and has been performed by ensembles like Ensemble forma Leipzig, Ensemble Mosaik, Calithumpian Consort and Ensemble Surplus. He is the author of articles about musicological and compositional topics and publishes regularly i.a. in “Musik und Ästhetik” and "New Music and Aesthetics in the 21st Century". He is currently undertaking a PhD in Composition at Harvard University (Cambridge); his music is being published by Edition Gravis in Berlin; and he is acting director of the Du Bois Orchestra at Harvard.