Ola Gjeilo was born in Norway in 1978 and moved to the United States in 2001 to begin his composition studies at the Juilliard School in New York City, where he currently resides and works as a full-time composer.
Ola’s recordings include the Decca Classics albums Ola Gjeilo and Winter Songs, featuring Tenebrae, Voces8 and the Choir of Royal Holloway. His choral works and piano pieces are published by Walton Music, wind band works by Boosey & Hawkes.
Ola Gjeilo is one of the most frequently performed composers in the choral world. An accomplished pianist, improvisations over his own published choral pieces have become a trademark of his collaborations across the world. Although Norwegian by birth, it is perhaps Ola’s adopted country of America that has influenced the composer’s distinctive soundworld the most, evolving a style that is both contemporary and familiar; thick harmonies and rich textures recall film score – music that forms a major part of the composer’s inspiration.