Overview
In his use of tradition, innovation and avant-garde classical music, Reto Stadelmann has cultivated his own, distinct musical language, reflecting two different aspects of his work as an artist.
In his composing Stadelmann combines elements of the folk music of his native Switzerland with international contemporary classical music. He blends the traditional with the modern, creating a genuine tension: a collaboration and a conflict of diverse voices, times and cultures.
Skilled in handling all kinds of instrumentation and ensembles, Stadelmann comes up again and again with novel, compelling solutions. A love of experimentation, an interest in variety and contrast and the quest for his own musical identity motivate him to keep developing and to explore uncharted territory.
In 2006 Stadelmann formed the Cologne-based arts orchestra Kwaggawerk. He is also founder and director of Hindertsi Produktionen GmbH (Hindertsi Productions), located in Wettingen in Switzerland.
Background and Education
Stadelmann, composer and producer of cultural education projects, was born in Lucerne in 1977. He was brought up within a rural, musical family, and hardly a day went by without people gathering to make music or to sing.
He carried these early musical influences into adulthood. Majoring in choral conducting, Stadelmann completed studies in music education at the Academy of Music in Lucerne, whilst simultaneously undergoing training in music theory at the Jazz School in Lucerne.
Following this he studied composition in London (at the London College of Music) and in Manchester (at the Royal Northern College of Music). Among those teaching him were Harrison Birtwistle, James MacMillan and John McCabe. Stadelmann graduated with First Class Honours in his Bachelor of Music degree and was awarded his Master of Music degree with Distinction. He received various prizes, notably the Westminster Music Prize (2002) and the Read Scholarship (2003). From 2005 to 2007 he was a student of Prof. York Höller at the Academy of Music in Cologne. He is currently studying for a doctorate at the University of York.
Composition
Reto Stadelmann's innovative approach to music finds expression in his many compositions and is reflected in his diverse range of musical projects.
Among Stadelmann's compositions are the music for the Swiss open-air theatre productions Bauernkrieg 1653 (Peasants' War 1653) (written in 2003 - author: Hansjörg Schneider, director: Louis Naef) and Menetekel (Writing on the Wall) (written in 2006 - author: Heinz Stalder, director: Louis Naef). Recent works include a composition commissioned in 2009 for the Stanser Musiktage (Stans Music Festival) - Rondo for Violin and Violoncello, with members of the musikFabrik and also a commission in 2010 for the Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) (the International Society for New Music), Central Switzerland.
Awards
In 2008 Reto Stadelmann was awarded a Project Grant for Music Composition by the city and canton of Lucerne. His cultural education project Kwaggawerk took first prize in the nationwide "Tag der Musik" (Day of Music) competition organised by the German Council of Music in the category New Approaches in the World of Music.
In his use of tradition, innovation and avant-garde classical music, Reto Stadelmann has cultivated his own, distinct musical language, reflecting two different aspects of his work as an artist.
In his composing Stadelmann combines elements of the folk music of his native Switzerland with international contemporary classical music. He blends the traditional with the modern, creating a genuine tension: a collaboration and a conflict of diverse voices, times and cultures.
Skilled in handling all kinds of instrumentation and ensembles, Stadelmann comes up again and again with novel, compelling solutions. A love of experimentation, an interest in variety and contrast and the quest for his own musical identity motivate him to keep developing and to explore uncharted territory.
In 2006 Stadelmann formed the Cologne-based arts orchestra Kwaggawerk. He is also founder and director of Hindertsi Produktionen GmbH (Hindertsi Productions), located in Wettingen in Switzerland.
Background and Education
Stadelmann, composer and producer of cultural education projects, was born in Lucerne in 1977. He was brought up within a rural, musical family, and hardly a day went by without people gathering to make music or to sing.
He carried these early musical influences into adulthood. Majoring in choral conducting, Stadelmann completed studies in music education at the Academy of Music in Lucerne, whilst simultaneously undergoing training in music theory at the Jazz School in Lucerne.
Following this he studied composition in London (at the London College of Music) and in Manchester (at the Royal Northern College of Music). Among those teaching him were Harrison Birtwistle, James MacMillan and John McCabe. Stadelmann graduated with First Class Honours in his Bachelor of Music degree and was awarded his Master of Music degree with Distinction. He received various prizes, notably the Westminster Music Prize (2002) and the Read Scholarship (2003). From 2005 to 2007 he was a student of Prof. York Höller at the Academy of Music in Cologne. He is currently studying for a doctorate at the University of York.
Composition
Reto Stadelmann's innovative approach to music finds expression in his many compositions and is reflected in his diverse range of musical projects.
Among Stadelmann's compositions are the music for the Swiss open-air theatre productions Bauernkrieg 1653 (Peasants' War 1653) (written in 2003 - author: Hansjörg Schneider, director: Louis Naef) and Menetekel (Writing on the Wall) (written in 2006 - author: Heinz Stalder, director: Louis Naef). Recent works include a composition commissioned in 2009 for the Stanser Musiktage (Stans Music Festival) - Rondo for Violin and Violoncello, with members of the musikFabrik and also a commission in 2010 for the Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) (the International Society for New Music), Central Switzerland.
Awards
In 2008 Reto Stadelmann was awarded a Project Grant for Music Composition by the city and canton of Lucerne. His cultural education project Kwaggawerk took first prize in the nationwide "Tag der Musik" (Day of Music) competition organised by the German Council of Music in the category New Approaches in the World of Music.