Biography Maja Ratkje

Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje, composer and performer (born December 29th 1973 in Trondheim, Norway), finished composition studies at the Norwegian State Academy of Music in Oslo in 2000.

Her compositions have been performed by Oslo Sinfonietta, The Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Arve Tellefsen, Cikada and Vertavo string quartets, Quatuor Renoir, Ticom, crash Ensemble, Torben Snekkestad, SPUNK, Frode Haltli and POING among others. Portrait concerts with her music has been heard in Toronto and Vienna, and she has received many awards and commissions from throughout the world such as the International Rostrum of Composers in Paris for composers below 30 years of age, she has received the Norwegian Edvard prize (work of the year) twice, second prize at the Russolo Foundation, and in 2001 she was the first composer ever to receive the Arne Nordheim prize. Her solo album "Voice", made in collaboration with Jazzkammer, got a Distinction Award at Prix Ars Electronica in 2003.

Ratkje is active as a singer/voice user and electronics player as well as studio engineer, mainly in connection with the contemporary improvisation ensemble SPUNK and the noise duo Fe-mail, which together with dancer Lotta Melin forms the performance trio Agrare. Other main collaborators are Jazkamer, POING, The Icelandic Dance Company, Odd Johan Fritzøe, Øyvind Berg and Jaap Blonk.

Ratkje has performed her own music for films, dance and theatre performances, installations, and numerous other projects. In 2003, she played a leading part in her own opera, based on the texts from the Nag Hammadi Library. In 2005 she performed the voice solo part of her first big work for orchestra, commissioned by Radio France.

Her scores are found at the Norwegian Music Information Centre and her records are released on rune grammofon, ECM, Kontrans, Albedo, Aurora, Asphodel, Important Records etc.

Official website: http://ratkje.no

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