American-Dutch composer Ellen Lindquist finds inspiration in the discovery of unique sound-worlds and revels in collaboration, whether dance, theatre, poetry, performance art or, particularly, devised music theatre, such as drömseminarium, based on the poetry of Nobel laureate Tomas Tranströmer, which was developed, through improvisation, with fourteen musician/actors between 2007 and 2011. Lindquist received her BA in composition from Middlebury College, Vermont, and both her MA and PhD in composition from New York’s Stony Brook University, where she has also taught. Lindquist has also taught at Sweden’s Gotland School of Music Composition, and since 2013 has been associate professor at Trondheim’s NTNU Institute of Music. She is a member of the Norwegian Society of Composers and has recently received a four-year grant from Arts Council Norway (Kulturrådet). She lives with her family on the Fosen peninsula, near Trondheim, and has a deep respect for and love of the natural world that is reflected in her work.
One of her latest works, Mantra has a title that in itself indicates its eastern inspiration, specifically the unique sound-world of Indonesia’s gamelan orchestra, with its constituent parts of not only a series of distinctive chiming instruments (metallophones, xylophones, gongs etc.), but also bowed, plucked instruments and drums, which dates back to the Indonesian Majapahit Empire (1293–c. 1500). Anyone who has experienced a traditional all-night Indonesian shadow-puppet show, a wayang kulit, will testify to the mesmeric quality of the repetitive music.
For further information, please visit Ellen Lindquist's website.
