Ola Gjeilo

Biographie

Pianiste et compositeur norvégien, Ola Gjeilo est né à Skui le 5 mai 1978. Après des études de piano avec Wolfgang Plagge, il entre à l'Académie de musique norvégienne, puis part pour la Juilliard School de New York en 2001. Diplômé d'un master en composition obtenu au Royal College of Music de Londres en 2006, il collabore avec la Phoenix Chorale lors d'une résidence, puis s'installe à Manhattan et entame une carrière de pianiste et compositeur avec l'album Stone Rose (2007). Spécialisé dans les oeuvres pour piano et la musique chorale, Ola Gjeilo aborde différents styles entre la musique classique « crossover », le New Age et le jazz. La partition de Northern Lights, parue en 2012, fait appel à la Phoenix Chorale et au Harrington String Quartet, sous la direction de Charles Bruffy. La même année sort l'album Piano Improvisations. En 2016, le recueil Ola Gjeilo: Voices, Piano, Strings, comprenant les participations de plusieurs solistes et des ensembles choraux Tenebrae et Voces8, se classe n° 6 au classement de la musique classique du Billboard. Il est suivi par Winter Songs (2017), Night (2020) et l'EP Seasons (2020).

Ola Gjeilo is a Norwegian pianist and composer who has won acclaim as a composer of classical crossover choral works with a spiritual influence. He learned to play piano and began writing music as a child and went on to study with Norwegian composer and pianist Wolfgange Plagge. Following further study at the Norwegian Academy of Music, Juilliard School in New York and Royal College of Music in London, he had a stint as composer in residence with the Phoenix Chorale. He is based in Manhattan where he is composer in residence with Distinguished Concerts International New York and Albany Pro Musica in the state capital.

His 2007 release 'Stone Rose' features interviews and music with Thomas Barber on flugelhorn, David Coucheron on violin and Johannes Martens on cello. 'Northern Lights' (2012) features Emmanuel Lopez on cello and Ted Belledin on tenor saxophone with the Harrington String Quartet and the Phoenix Chorale under conductor Charles Bruffy. It is accompanied by a five-part video series on the making of the album. 'Ola Gjeilo: Voices, Piano, Strings' (2016), which reached number six on Billboard's Classical Albums Chart, features Hannah Dawson, Thomas Gould, Ben Hancox and Ciaran McCabeon on violin, Kristian Kvalvaag on guitar, Matthew Sharp on cello, Jon Thorne and Simone Van Der Giessen on viola, and the Tenebrae and Voices8 choirs. 'Winter Songs' (2017), which went to number 14 on the chart, features the 12 Ensemble and the Choir of Royal Holloway, University of London, under conductor Rupert Gough. His 2018 concert schedule included performances at venues in London and Belfast.

Artist biography compiled by BDS/West 10. All rights reserved