John Andreas Persen (9 November 1941 – 12 December 2014) was a Norwegian composer. John Persen grew up in a laestadian, Sami family in Ráigeadja in Porsanger and was a son-in-law of

Finn Strømsted Finn Strømsted (9 June 1925 – 4 July 2003) was a Norwegian poet and graphical artist. He made his literary debut in 1956 with the poetry collection ''Angelicafløyten''. Among his other collections are ''Bidevind'' from 1961, ''Susquehanna B ...

. In 1968, John Persen moved to Oslo to study music and initiated the establishment of the Norwegian Academy of Music at the same time. He was the student representative for the creation of the Norwegian Academy of Music (1969-1971), leader for the UNM music festival (1970-1973) and leader for Ny Musikk (1973-1976). He was a key player involved in Kunstneraksjonen 74 (an artist' right pressure group) and important advocate for the New Music. Together with Olav Anton Thomessen, he was a key initiator for the establishment of Norsk Musikkinformasjon in the early 1970s, which he was a board member of several times in the 1970s and 1980s. Furthermore, he was the initiator and first leader of the

Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival ULTIMA Oslo Contemporary Music Festival is a Norwegian music festival for contemporary music. Background Ultima is Scandinavia's largest contemporary music festival, and since 1991 it has been a key arena for contemporary music and related ar ...

(1990-1994). Among his compositions are the opera ''Under kors og krone'' from 1985, and the orchestral work ''Over kors og krone''. Both these works are based upon the

Kautokeino rebellion The Sami revolt in Guovdageaidnu, also known as the Kautokeino uprising, was a revolt in the town of Kautokeino in northern Norway in 1852 by a group of Sami who attacked representatives of the Norwegian authorities. The rebels killed the local ...

in 1852. He was awarded Lindemanprisen in 1999, and

Edvardprisen The Edvard Prize is a Norwegian music award in given by TONO, copyright organization for musicians and composers. The award, which was first awarded in 1998, is awarded annually and can only be awarded to members of the organization. The goal is t ...

twice, and was awarded honorary membership of the

Norwegian Society of Composers The Norwegian Society of Composers ( no, Norsk Komponistforening) was founded in 1917. The Society's main objectives are to promote its members' music and secure their rights. As of today the Society counts 185 members who meet regularly for discu ...

References

1941 births 2014 deaths People from Porsanger Norwegian composers Norwegian male composers {{Norway-composer-stub