Therese Birkelund Ulvo Har studert komposisjon ved Norges Musikkhøgskole og Guildhall School of Music and Drama i London. Ho er ein av landets leiande unge komponistar, og blir beskreve som ein utøvarkomponist: Ho skriv ikkje eit stykke for sopran, men for ein heilt bestemt sopran med eit bestemt uttrykk. Ho arbeidar med menneske, istaden for eit instrument, i tett prosess med utøvarane ho skriv for. Musikken er inspirert av andre kunstfelt, som film, tekst og lydkunst. Ho har eit nært forhold til norsk tradisjonsmusikk, der man kan finne både det mikrotonale, det rapsodiske og opne former. Musikken hennar blir mykje framført, i inn- og utland. I tillegg til sitt virke som komponist er ho mellom anna aktiv som plateprodusent i fleire genre; folkemusikk, samtidsmusikk, elektronisk musikk og jazz. Therese var Rikskonsertene sin intro-komponist 2011-2013. Ulvo mottok i 2015 De Unges Lindemanpris. Hennes klarinettkonsert for Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester og solist Christian Stene fekk i Rostrum 2016 utmerkelsen “Recommended piece”.
Fra 2014 har Ulvo vært kunstnerisk leder for festivalen Hardanger Musikkfest sammen med Tora Augestad.
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– I work primarily with people, not with instruments or paper, «says composer Therese Birkelund Ulvo. She composes in intimate dialogue with performers and focuses on how this exchange of ideas with other musicians can supplement the written score. Her music is also inspired by other art fields, such as film, text and sound art.
Ulvo’s music moves in the intersection between the acoustic and electronic, both realms reciprocally coloured by the other. The compositions often arise out of various forms of friction, noise and overtones created by the instruments.
The compositional forms seem to appear as open, sometimes bordering on the improvised, while still maintaining a strong narrative aspect. This openness allows both performers and listeners the freedom to shape the music. On one level, the composer gives up control, but in return she gains presence and a direct, almost tactile contact with the listener.
Therese Birkelund Ulvo (born 1982) studied composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She also has a tight bond to Norwegian traditional music, a genre that has a rich array of micro-tonal and rhapsodic passages, open forms and performer-based compositions.
Ulvo has written music for a wide range of ensembles. In Ensemble Epoch, which consists of Britt Pernille Frøholm on fiddle and Ulvo on electronics, she also experiments with the space surrounding the listening experience. The duo has performed in a variety of settings including open air events and club performances, leaving the performers in a closer and more committing encounter with the listener than in larger concert halls.