Jacob Benjamin Mühlrad (born 9 April 1991) is a Swedish composer who has worked with prominent choirs and orchestras across the world. He has also collaborated with pop music acts and produced

film music A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

. Mühlrad's

modern classical Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included serial music, elect ...

works have been performed at the

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

in New York City, Victoria Hall in Singapore, the Orpheum in Vancouver, the Norwegian Opera, and the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

in London. His piece ''Anim Zemirot'' (composed in 2013 and released by

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

in 2021) is today a staple in the repertoire of European choirs. In 2015, Mühlrad as a 24-year-old became the youngest composer to have a piece performed at the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...

. He has since been labeled a "rising star" by

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

and garnered a top rating by

BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC, was the original owner and publisher together with ...

for his debut album ''Time''. Mühlrad has partnered with musicians such as

Pablo Heras-Casado Pablo Heras-Casado (born 1977) is a Spanish conductor. Early life The son of a retired police officer, he began singing with a school choir at the age of seven and piano lessons at the age of nine. He studied music at the conservatory in Granad ...

Olga Neuwirth Olga Neuwirth (; born 4 August 1968) is an Austrian contemporary classical composer, visual artist and author. She is famed especially for her operas and music theater works, many of which have treated sociopolitical themes. She has emphasized an ...

Martin Fröst Martin Fröst (born 14 December 1970) is a Swedish clarinetist and conductor. As a clarinetist, he performs internationally and is considered one of the most renowned instrumental soloists ever. He is the first clarinetist to be awarded ...

, and

Peter Dijkstra Peter Dijkstra (born 11 June 1978) is a Dutch conductor, especially of choirs and vocal ensembles. Born in Roden, Drenthe, Dijkstra sang in his youth in Jongenskoor Roder, a boys' choir, which his father, Bouwe Dijkstra, founded in 1985. He sang ...

, and ensembles including the Royal Stockholm Philharmonics,

Tokyo Symphony Orchestra The (TSO) is a Japanese orchestra, administratively based in Kawasaki. The orchestra offers subscription concert series at its home, the Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall and at Suntory Hall, the Concert Hall of the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, ...

, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln and Vancouver Chamber Choir, on the classical side. As a pop composer, he has done various collaborations with the

Swedish House Mafia Swedish House Mafia (SHM) are a Swedish house music, house Supergroup (music), supergroup consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The group officially formed in late 2008, were placed at number ten on the ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 D ...

, including the '' One Symphony,'' a symphonic version of the electronic music super group's hit song. Mühlrad is from a Jewish family and three of his grandparents were survivors of

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. He is inspired by Jewish cultural elements in his musical work, as well as by various other cultures across all parts of the world. In his native Sweden, Mühlrad has emerged as a fashion icon, earning the title 'Sweden's best-dressed man' by

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

in 2019.

Early life and education

Mühlrad started with music when he was 15 years old and found an old broken synth and started to improvise with it. As a result of severe

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

, he initially had difficulties learning how to read and write sheet music. He studied music under Sven-David Sandström and Djuro Zivkovic, and then went on to the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and has a master's degree from the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

in London.

Career

In 2014, Mühlrad performed collaborative and experimental concert ''Through and Through,'' with Swedish contemporary artist

Andreas Emenius Andreas Emenius (born February 24, 1973) is a Swedish cross-disciplinary artist known for installation, painting, and performance, based in Copenhagen. Emenius has shown work in multiple global biennales as well as museums, and is currently the ...

, at R1 Reaktorhallen in Stockholm. In 2016, Mühlrad made his

debut with his work "Pan", inspired by the god in Greek mythology with the same name. As the grandchild of a

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivor, he was awarded a scholarship from Micael Bindefeld's Foundation in memory of the Holocaust ($33 000) on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2017. The scholarship funded the production for an a cappella choir piece with the Radio Choir and

Eva Dahlgren Eva Charlotte Dahlgren (born 9 June 1960) is a Swedish pop musician and singer-songwriter. Career Dahlgren was discovered by musician/producer Bruno Glenmark in 1978 after appearing on the TV show ''Sveriges magasin,'' and her debut album ''Fi ...

based on his grandfather, Michael Bliman's, experiences in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. Over the course of his career so far, Mühlrad has produced various works leading Swedish musical institutions, including Berwaldhallen, the Swedish Radio Choir, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra,

Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra () is a Swedish radio orchestra based in Stockholm, affiliated with Sveriges Radio (Sweden's Radio). Its principal performing venue is the Berwaldhallen (Berwald Hall). The orchestra broadcasts concerts on th ...

, and the Royal Dramatic Theatre. Mühlrad is also a co-composer on rapper Silvana Imam's Swedish Grammy nominated album "Naturkraft" (2016). In 2018, it was announced that Mühlrad was producing a piece that was co-commissioned by several of Europe's most prominent choirs: the Radio Choir in Cologne, Cappella San Francisco, Tapiola Chamber Choir in Espoo, Finland, and the Swedish Radio Choir. In 2019, it was confirmed that Mühlrad would be composing an orchestral interpretation of

One (Your Name) "One" is the first single by Swedish house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia. A vocal version titled "One (Your Name)", featuring American singer Pharrell Williams, was released in July 2010. The song also appears on the group's mix album '' ...

by the

for the trio's comeback tour which is starting with three Stockholm shows in May. The piece, entitled "One Symphony", was released globally on 1 January 2022. In 2021, Mühlrad premiered his first orchestral piece, REMS (Rapid Eye Movement Sleep), which was commissioned by the Royal Stockholm Mühlrad composed the soundtrack for the film Burn All My Letters, released as an album in 2022 and an solo piano EP in 2023 by Warner Classics, based on the film adaptation of Alex Schulmans bestselling novel, which explores themes of love, trauma, and memory across generations. His 2022 choir piece Ay Li Lu was inspired by a Jiddisch lullaby and was co-commissioned by the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Vox Chamber Choir in Pretoria, SYC Ensemble Singers in Singapore and Kampin Laulu in Helsinki. In October 2024, a composition by Mühlrad premiered at Malmö Concert Hall, featuring a robot cellist performing alongside the

Malmö Symphony Orchestra The Malmö Symphony Orchestra () is a Swedish orchestra, based in Malmö. Since 2015, it has been resident at the Malmö Live Concert Hall. The orchestra has a complement of 94 musicians. History The orchestra was founded in 1925 with Walther ...

for the first time in music history. In December 2024, Mühlrad collaborated with DJ & producer Anyma and visual artist Alexander Wessely to integrate the compositions for robotic cellists into the show ”Afterlife presents Anyma: The End of Genesys” at the

Sphere A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...

in Las Vegas. In February 2025, Jacob Mühlrad’s composition Heliopauses premiered at Festival Présences, hosted by

Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist media, generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed wi ...

, alongside works by composers such as

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhlrad, Jacob Living people 1991 births Swedish composers Swedish male composers 21st-century Swedish musicians 21st-century Swedish male musicians Royal College of Music, Stockholm, alumni Alumni of the Royal College of Music 21st-century Swedish composers