Alfred Schnittke – Requiem & Scandinavian folk songs
The atelier will try to interlace the sensibility of Schnittke with Scandinavian folk song through various arrangements, be it in Swedish or Norwegian, or using no words at all. By means of improvisation, the atelier’s piece will be co-created by the participants. Are you risk-taker enough to let your mind soar?
P.S.: Let us let you in on a secret: we will be joined in our atelier by the Academy of music Soloists’ Choir. Is this challenging enough? 😉
Repertoire
Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998): REQUIEM (Missale Romanum – Missa pro defunctis)
SCANDINAVIAN FOLK SONGS (different arrangements with improvisation)
The participants will be able to attend the atelier with original scores only. The use of photocopies shall not be permitted. We will offer affordable set of vocal score and sheet music specified by the mentor of the atelier. The participants will be able to purchase them only after receiving the confirmation of participation in the chosen atelier. The link to the online store will be published here in April 2021.
Mentors
Grete Pedersen (NO)
Grete Pedersen, the world-famous Norwegian conductor, is considered to be the pioneer in bringing Norwegian music to life in choral arrangements, which she regularly merges with selected pieces from world musical literature in concerts. The founder of the Oslo Chamber Choir, she worked as its Artistic Director and conductor for 20 years. In 1990, she took over the legacy of Knut Nystedt as the conductor of the Norwegian Soloists' Choir, with whom she has won many an international award. Grete Pederson graduated in the class of Kenneth Kiesler at the Norwegian Academy of Music where she is currently a lecturer herself, and continued her studies with Eric Ericson and Terje Kvam. She has performed with an elite selection of choirs: German Radio Choir, the Dutch Chamber Choir, the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir …
Simon Arlasjö (SE) - assistant conductor
Simon Arlasjö is a Swedish choral conductor, born in 1996. In the spring of 2020, he completed his BA at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm by conducting a project with the Swedish Radio Choir. In the past season, he began his MA with Grete Pedersen at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Arlasjö is said to have, "in spite of his young age, a mature perception of music that he expresses with a nice and inspiring conducting technique, clear instructions and a transmittable musical charisma". He is also a member of the board of the Swedish Choral Conductors’ Association.
Alejandro Gabriel Pance (AR/NO) - assistant conductor
Alejandro Gabriel Pance studies choral conducting with Grete Pedersen at the Norwegian Academy of Music, working at the same time as an assistant to the Norwegian Soloists' Choir. He has conducted renowned choirs such as the Argentinian National Choir, Rundfunk-Jugendchor Wernigerode, and the Tous Ensemble, and participated in masterclasses with André Merwe, Ariel Alonso, Florian Helgath, Romāns Vanags (choral conducting) and Paavo Järvi, Riccardo Muti, Douglas Bostock (orchestral conducting). His performance of the Pierrot Lunaire received a Special Award of Argentina in 2017. In 2020, he was granted the Noël Minet Fund scholarship.
