Bjørn Howard Kruse (born 14 August 1946) is a Norwegian painter and composer. He is also professor of

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

at the

Norwegian Academy of Music The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the co ...

in Oslo.

Personal life

Kruse is the son of Colonel Erling O. Kruse (born 1922, died 2016) and Eunice Cooklin (born 1925, died 2014), and spent his childhood in England and the USA. In 1974 he married Professor Gro Shetelig (born 1948) and they had three girls, singers and actors Benedikte (born 1979), Anine (born 1977) and

Jannike Kruse Jannike Kruse Jåtog (born 16 June 1975) is a Norwegians, Norwegian singer, artist and actor. Daughter of Professor and composer Bjørn Kruse, Bjørn Howard Kruse and Professor and author Gro Shetelig, sister of Anine Kruse, Anine and Benedikte ...

(born 1975). Marriage dissolved 2008. Married Karette Stensæth 2012. Kruse has a broad background as a musician, (

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

and saxophone), producer and music arranger.

Academic career

Ever since his student days he has given lectures at

, in

jazz theory Jazz harmony is the music theory, theory and practice of how chord (music), chords are used in jazz music. Jazz bears certain similarities to other practices in the tradition of Western harmony, such as many chord progressions, and the incorpora ...

, arranging as the author of ''Bruksmusikkarrangering'' (1978) but foremost in composition, and music and arts ethics. Bjørn Kruse is a lecturer within his academic area, often based on his book ''Den Tenkende Kunstner'' ("The Reflective Artist").

Artistic career

As a composer, he has created more than 150 titles in the genres of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

choral music 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 sp ...

, larger

orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

works and operas. In the dance project ''Memento Mori'' young and old are joined together in a theatrical tapestry of dance movement, text, voice, music and sound. Kruse and the choreographer Sølvi Edvardsen wanted in this piece to focus on all stages of life. A key work in Kruse's compositional career is the opera ''The Green Knight'' with libretto by

Paal-Helge Haugen Paal-Helge Haugen (born 26 April 1945) is a Norwegian poet, novelist, dramatist and children's writer who has published over 30 books. His titles have been translated into at least 20 languages. His 1968 "punktroman" or "pointillist novel," ''Anne ...

. It premiered in Kristiansand, Norway, on 10 March 2004. Kruse's latest major work is ''Chronotope'' for clarinet and orchestra, premiered on 21 January 2016 with soloist Fredrik Fors, the

Oslo Philharmonic The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 18 ...

Orchestra and conductor Han-Na Chang. Kruse formed the vocal group

Bendik Singers The Bendik Singers were a four-member Norwegian vocal group, brought together by singer and composer Arne Bendiksen to participate in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest selection, Melodi Grand Prix, in 1973. The group consisted of Anne-Karine S ...

with his brother

Philip Kruse Philip Antony Kruse (born 13 May 1949) is a Norwegian orchestra leader, composer, arranger, producer, text writer, and musician (trumpet and vocals). He is the second son of Colonel Erling O. Kruse (b. 1922) and Eunice Cooklin (b. 1925). Career ...

and the singers

Anne-Karine Strøm Anne-Karine Strøm (born 15 October 1951) is a Norwegian singer, best known for having taken part in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest selection, Melodi Grand Prix, in six consecutive years between 1971 and 1976, winning on three occasions ( ...

and

Ellen Nikolaysen Ellen Helen Nikolaysen (born 10 December 1951) is a Norwegian singer/actress.Ellen Nikolaysen
in Store norske leksikon ...

Selected exhibitions

His latest major exhibitions of paintings were both at the gallery Albin Upp in Oslo: * ''Chaos and Order'' (2009) * ''Space and Time'' (2010)

Selected works

* ''Exit'' (1979) * ''Animal'' (1980) * ''Et sjakkspill'' (1982) * ''Metall'' (1985) * ''Nils Holgerson'' (opera text by S. Lagerlöf) (1986) * ''Syntax '' (1987) * ''Ghirlanda'' (1988) * ''Le voci di sempre'' (1988) * ''Saksofonkonsert'' (1991) * ''Panem et circensis'' (1993) * ''Circum polarum'' (1994) * ''Vindsalme for dei døde'' (1995) * ''Song for Winter'' (1996) * ''På evighetens tavler '' (1998) * ''Tiden bøyer stenen'' (1999) * ''Iocus : Scherzo for klavertrio'' (2000) * ''Den grøne riddaren : Opera i 2 akter'' (2004) * ''Mene Tekel : For mixed choir and saxophone quartet'' (2004) * ''Eikon : For chamber ensemble'' (2006) * ''Ode to the Sea : For mixed choir a cappella'' (2007) * ''Timaios : For solo alto saxophon and orchestra'' (2009) * ''Devoured : For soprano, violin and piano'' (2015) * ''Chronotope'' (2016) * ''Concerto For Clarinet And Orchestra'' (2017)

Selected recordings

;As musician * 1991: ''Service for the Nervous – Please Continue Singing'' (Norway Music Hemera), trio with Warren Carlslstrom & Celio De Carvalho * 1991: ''In the hall of the mountain king'' (Crema) The Norwegian Big Band (Radiostorbandet – NRK) ;As composer * 1988: Voices – ''Le voci di sempre'' * 1993: Cikada – ''Syntax'' * 1994: The Operamusical – ''Adam'' (Norway Music Hemera) * 1995: Bendik Hofset – ''Concerto for Saxophone'' (Aurora Records), album: Orchestral adventures * 1999: Works for Choir – ''Song For Winter'' (Aurora Records) * 1999: Concentus – ''På evighetens tavler'' (Female choir) * 2016: ''Portrait With Hidden Face'' (LabLabel), Eir Inderhaug with Ellen Margrete Flesjø, Ingfrid Breie Nyhus, Gjertrud Pedersen, Ellen Sejersted Bødtker, Eirik Raude, Marianne E. Andersen * 2016: ''Phonetix'', Lars Lien, Berit Solset, Anders Eidsten Dahl LAWO Classics LWC 109 * 2016: ''Havet, speilet i toner'', Stavanger Vocalensemble Daniel Engen Productions * 2017: ''Chronotope'', Fredrik Fors, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Christian Eggen LAWO Classics LWC 1129

Bibliography

* ''Bruksmusikkarrangering'' 1978 * ''JAZZTEORI – Grunnleggende prinsipper'' 1980 * ''Den tenkende kunstner. Komposisjon og dramaturgi som prosess og metode'' 1995

Notes

References

External links

Biography – Store Norske Leksikon
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kruse, Bjorn 20th-century Norwegian composers 21st-century Norwegian composers 20th-century Norwegian male singers 20th-century Norwegian saxophonists 21st-century Norwegian saxophonists 20th-century Norwegian painters 21st-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters Norwegian male writers Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Norway Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1973 Melodi Grand Prix winners 1946 births Living people Norwegian male singers Musicians from Oslo Norwegian Academy of Music faculty Norwegian Academy of Music alumni 20th-century saxophonists 20th-century Norwegian male artists 21st-century Norwegian male artists