Kim André Arnesen

Kim André Arnesen (b. 1980) is one of the most frequently performed classical composers from Norway today. He grew up in Trondheim, and while being a daily follower of MTV, and no one understood why he was such a big The Cure fan at the age of 10, he also played the piano at the music school and was a chorister in the Nidaros Cathedral Boys´ Choir.
 
He was educated at the Music Conservatory in Trondheim. With a big interest in baroque music, contemporary classical music, and popular music, Kim could have taken many roads, but choral music became his greatest passion. As a composer, he had his first performance at the age of 18 with the boys´ choir. Since then he has written music that has been performed by choirs all over the world.
 
In 2010, his first large-scale work, Magnificat was commissioned and premiered by the Nidaros Cathedral Girls´ Choir. The premiere got an overwhelming feedback leading to several new commissions. A recording was released by 2L in 2014 and the album has received excellent reviews in Gramophone, Choir & Organ and other classical magazines. Gramophone calls the music "haunting, beautifully arched, warmly compassionate".

In 2011 his choral work Even when He is silent had its premiere during the St. Olav Festival (Olavsfestdagene) in Trondheim. The piece was commissioned by the festival and has since its premiere been performed many times around the world and recorded on several CDs.

In 2013 Even when He is silent and Cradle Hymn featured in the TV production "Christmas in Norway" with St. Olaf Choir and Nidaros Cathedral Girls' Choir. Cradle Hymn has been the bestseller of Santa Barbara Music's Christmas music in 2014, 2015 and 2016. In 2016 it was performed at The White House for President Barack Obama.

In April 2014 his Requiem was premiered by the Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir, and the work had its U.S. premiere in April 2015. The work had its New York City premiere at Carnegie Hall in January 2017, in a production with the Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY).
 
Kim was the Composer-in-residence for the Denver-based choral ensemble Kantorei and Artistic Director Joel Rinsema in their 2015/16 Season, which will end with Kim's second CD album to be released in January 2018 by Naxos. In 2016 the new large-scale work The Wound in the Water was premiered during the St. Olaf Festival in Trondheim, with Conspirare, conductor Craig Hella Johnson, soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, and TrondheimSolistene.
 
The National Lutheran Choir commissioned the Holy Spirit Mass in commemoration of 500 years since the reformation and was premiered in Washington D. C. and Minneapolis in 2017. Several new commissioned anthem length pieces were premiered throughout 2017 including a commissioned work for the Texas Choral Directors Association and Oregon Bach Festival. In 2018 the album INFINITY was released by Naxos with the Denver choir Kantorei and conductor Joel Rinsema. The album included a selection of Kim's choral works. In 2018, the 5th large-scale work Tuvayhun - Beatitudes for a Wounded World with lyrics by Charles Anthony Silvestri was premiered in New York City by the Manhattan Girls Chorus. In October 2018 the work So That the World May Believe was premiered in Rome together with the European premiere of the "Holy Spirit Mass."
 
Kim is an elected member of the Norwegian Composers Society, and a full-time composer focusing on choral music. From September 2017 he has signed with Boosey & Hawkes as one of their house composers.