Bengt Ollén (born 17 August 1950 in

Lidköping Lidköping () is a locality and the seat of Lidköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about 40 000 inhabitants in 2021. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Vänern and sometimes refers to itself as "Lidköpin ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

) is a Swedish

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

conductor, music teacher,

adjudicator An adjudicator is someone who presides, judges, and arbitrates during a formal dispute or competition. They have numerous purposes, including preliminary legal judgments, to determine applicant eligibility, or to assess contenders' performance ...

and

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

. In 1995 Ollén founded Sofia Vokalensemble that has emerged as one of the world's leading amateur choirs.

Career

After studying

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology ( sv, Chalmers tekniska högskola, often shortened to Chalmers) is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that conducts research and education in technology and natural sciences at a high international level ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Ollén received his

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1976. After briefly working at Swedish ball-bearing company

SKF AB SKF (Swedish: ''Svenska Kullagerfabriken''; 'Swedish Ball Bearing Factory') is a Swedish bearing and seal manufacturing company founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1907. The company manufactures and supplies bearings, seals, lubrication and l ...

in Gothenburg he decided that he loved music more than mechanics. Ollén then studied music at the Academy of Music and Drama at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden for professors Gösta Ohlin and Gunnar Eriksson. In 1981 he founded the still active vocal ensemble ''Amanda'' in Gothenburg, and in 1995 he founded Sofia Vokalensemble in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, that won the

European Grand Prix for Choral Singing The European Grand Prix for Choral Singing (in French, Grand Prix Européen de Chant Choral, commonly abbreviated as European Choral Grand Prix or GPE) is an annual choral competition between the winners of six European choral competitions. It was ...

in 2012. In 2015

Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...

, the Swedish

public-broadcasting Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

system, appointed Sofia Vokalensemble under Bengt Ollén as Sweden's representative in

Let the Peoples Sing ''Let the Peoples Sing'' (known until 1964 as ''Let the People Sing'') is an international choral competition currently organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The final, encompassing three categories and around ten choirs, is offer ...

(LTPS), an international choir competition organized by the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...

(EBU). Ollén works as choral conductor and teacher in choral singing at

Stockholms Musikgymnasium Kungsholmens gymnasium is an upper secondary school ( sv, gymnasium, links=no) located on the island of Kungsholmen in Stockholm, Sweden. The school is divided into a Swedish Section, an English-speaking International Section, and a Music Section ...

, a highly competitive High School program combining

Natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

and

Social Science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...

programs with advanced

courses. Stockholms Musikgymnasium accepts students based on a combination of

grade point average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

, singing auditions and tests in

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

. In the 14th International Choir Competition in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

in 2013 a Stockholms Musikgymnasium class choir directed by Ollén participated in three categories (''Mixed choirs'', ''Male choirs'' and ''Female choirs'') and won gold in all, plus the ''Grand Prix'' for the entire competition. In 2016 Ollén once again brought a Stockholms Musikgymnasium class choir to an international competition, this time to the 10th International Choir Competition in

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, where the choir won the same categories plus the ''Grand Prix''. Ollén is frequently invited as guest lecturer and choir conductor at universities, choir festivals and concerts in Sweden and abroad, and as judge at international choral competitions. Bengt Ollén arranged the Sweden folk song '' Trilo'' in 2017 and his arrangement has been described as "highly atmospheric music".

Personal life

Ollén lives in

but spends much of his time in Dala-Floda where he owns an old cottage and sometimes helps to arrange concerts. He is married and has an adult daughter.

References

External links

*
Bengt Ollén in Choral Guide's Who is Who in Choral SingingSofia Vokalensemble's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ollen, Bengt 1950 births Living people People from Lidköping Municipality Chalmers University of Technology alumni 21st-century conductors (music) Swedish choral conductors Swedish music educators