Therese Birkelund Ulvo wins Arne Nordheim Composer Prize 2024

Since 2001, the Arne Nordheim Composer Prize has been recognising originality, creativity and impact in Norwegian music. The prize, which includes a diploma and 200,000 NOK, is currently presented every two years. A jury selects the winner, whose work is traditionally presented at a special concert at that year’s Ultima Festival where they are presented with their award.

This year the prize goes to Therese Ulvo, a composer born in 1982 who has been active on the Norwegian and international scene over the past two decades. Ulvo studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music and London Guildhall School of Music. Working in intimate dialogue with performers and ensembles, she works at the intersection between traditional and contemporary elements, acoustic and electronics, and explores friction, noise and overtones. Here is an exclusive interview between Therese Ulvo and Norwegian poet Ruth Lillegraven.

The Nordheim Prize will be handed over at Oslo domkirke on 21 September, alongside a performance of Ulvo’s choir work Langsomt ble landet vårt eget from 2020, performed by Oslo Domkor conducted by Vivianne Sydnes. The Prize will be given out by Secretary of State Even Aleksander Hagen from the Department of Culture and Equality. The jury is composed of Tanja Orning (president of the jury), Sven Lyder Lahrs and Trond Reinholdtsen.

From the jury’s statement on the prize winner:

Therese Birkelund Ulvo is a fearless, exploratory, dialogic, and innovative composer. The award winner's work reflects a wide range of new ways to express oneself through sound. Her music is inspired by contemporary art, and she has a close connection to Norwegian traditional music. At the same time, she demonstrates a willingness and ability to add something new to the tradition. She is a composer who is not afraid to take risks, and her music consistently shows an openness to new possibilities and potentials. [...] Ulvo has an impressive catalog of works that spans solo, chamber, choral, orchestral compositions, and installations. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Young Lindeman Prize and the Edvard Prize. In addition to being a prolific composer, the award winner has been active in the music scene as a record producer, podcaster, a mentor for young composers, and she has served as the artistic director of the Hardanger Music Festival since 2014. Therese Birkelund Ulvo leaves her mark on Norwegian musical life, and her quality, relevance, and curiosity make her a deserving winner. The jury believes that she explores and expands the role of the composer in a contemporary way, and she actively contributes to art music with her poetic, inquisitive, and beautiful music.

Experience Therese Ulvo at Ultima Festival 2024

12–21.9 Bankboksen, Sentralen

Nordheim Repercussions – Living Archives

An exhibition building a ‘living archive’ based on the work of Therese Ulvo and Arne Nordheim

Ulvo on Instagram

Follow the Instagram feed @arnenordheimcomposerprize to see a series of posts about Therese Ulvo from artists who have worked with her

21.9 Oslo domkirke

Dusk Meditations I

Oslo Domkor perform Ulvo’s Langsom ble landet vår eget and a piece by Luis Fernando Amaya. Presentation of the Arne Nordheim Composer Prize.

In the German music magazine Positionen Vol. 140, 3/2024, you can also read an essay about Ulvo, written by Rita Argauer..