GALIT GERTSENZON

Dr. Galit Gertsenzon is an internationally acclaimed pianist, music historian, and interdisciplinary scholar whose work bridges performance, historical inquiry, and honors pedagogy. Born and raised in Israel, she studied piano performance and musicology at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv. Since 2001, she has performed extensively as a soloist and collaborative pianist across Europe, Israel, and the United States, with a particular focus on twentieth-century repertoire and music suppressed under totalitarian regimes. Her performances frequently highlight the works of Gideon Klein, James Simon, Szimon Laks, Pavel Haas, and Viktor Ullmann. She has appeared at major international venues including Carnegie Hall—where she debuted Klein’s Piano Sonata in 2005 and returned in 2008—and the German Bundestag.

Dr. Gertsenzon earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2012. Her scholarly research examines music within its cultural, political, and social contexts, with sustained emphasis on World War II, the Holocaust, and music as testimony, resistance, and memory. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes spanning musicology, Holocaust studies, Judaic studies, and honors education, contributing to interdisciplinary conversations on music, power, identity, and historical memory.

Dr. Gertsenzon is a professor in the Honors College at Ball State University, where she teaches globally focused, interdisciplinary courses that integrate music, politics, history, and contemporary culture. Her curriculum—including courses such as Forbidden Sounds: Music of the Holocaust and Inquiry in Contemporary American Civilization: Music, Culture, and Society—is recognized for its innovative, student-centered pedagogy and emphasis on critical listening, creative inquiry, and experiential learning. In 2018, she received Ball State University’s Vander Hill Distinguished Honors Educator Award in recognition of her excellence in teaching and curriculum design.

Through her combined work as a performer, scholar, and educator, Dr. Gertsenzon advances a sustained scholarly mission centered on remembrance, ethical listening, and the enduring power of music to illuminate human experience. She remains deeply committed to preserving and sharing the musical voices silenced by history while cultivating new generations of engaged, reflective scholars and artists.