BIOGRAPHY
One of the most frequently performed contemporary choral composers, Kim André Arnesen (b. 1980), is a classical composer from Trondheim, Norway. Although he was an avid follower of MTV and a huge fan of The Cure at ten years old, he also studied classical piano, sang as a chorister in the Nidaros Cathedral Boys’ Choir, and received his education at the Music Conservatory in Trondheim. With a deep interests in baroque, contemporary classical, and popular music, his musical career could have ventured down many paths; however, choral music became his greatest passion.
Kim's first major work, Magnificat, was commissioned and premiered by the Nidaros Cathedral Girls' Choir. Released by 2L in 2014, the work received rave reviews from prominent classical music magazines like Gramophone and Choir & Organ, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for 'Best surround recording'. His second album, 'Infinity: Choral Works' (Naxos), released in January 2018, reached No. 2 on iTunes' best-selling classical albums and No. 6 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Albums Charts.
Among his most popular and globally performed choral pieces are works such as Even when He is silent, Cradle Hymn, and Flight Song. His music has sold in six-figure numbers and has been performed in more than 50 countries.
Other notable works includes Requiem for Solace commissioned by the Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir in 2014; The Wound in the Water, commissioned by the St. Olaf Festival in Trondheim and premiered by Conspirare, Elin Manahan Thomas and conductor Craig Hella Johnson in 2016; and Holy Spirit Mass, commemorating the 500-year anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 for the National Lutheran Choir. The European premiere of the mass was held in Rome at the opening of the 2018 International Festival of Sacred Music and Art. Tuvayhun - Beatitudes for a Wounded World was commissioned and premiered by the Manhattan Girls Chorus and conductor Michelle Oesterle in 2018. Released in 2022, the recording was nominated in two different Grammy categories.
Major recent works includes Nordic Christmas, a collection of new arrangements of Nordic Christmas carols commissioned and premiered by VocalEssence and Philip Brunelle in 2019; Stabat Mater, commissioned and premiered by Haderslev Cathedral Girls’ Choir in Denmark in 2020; and Nordlys for the World Choral Fest 2020. His most recent large work, The Stranger, was commissioned and premiered by the Together in Hope Choir as the opening concert of the St Olaf Festival in Trondheim.
In 2020 and 2021 Kim released his first piano music on Decca Classics, with one of the singles, "Winter Moon", reaching No. 1 on Apple Music's classical charts.
As of 2023, Kim is collaborating with the BBC SIngers and several other choirs worldwide. He is an elected member of the Norwegian Composers Society and a house composer at the prestigious music publisher Boosey & Hawkes.
