Félix Pastor and Michael Douglas Jones, Västerås Konserthus, Sweden. Photo by by Henny Linn Kjellberg.

drömseminarium (dream seminar) is a new piece of music-theater based on the texts of contemporary Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer and music of American composer Ellen Lindquist, produced by Companion Star, and developed collaboratively by an international company of musicians and artists.

drömseminarium creates an environment in which the spaces between the real and unreal elements of life are bridged, an important theme that appears throughout Tranströmer’s work. It is bilingual, mixing Tranströmer’s original Swedish with English translations (Robin Fulton). The cast of drömseminarium, which includes two singer/actors and thirteen instrumentalist/actors, are all members of Skogensemble, an international ensemble of performers dedicated to the performance and dissemination of contemporary classical music from Scandinavia (a part of Companion Star). A highly unique aspect of the piece is that all players, instrumentalists and singers alike, are characters in the piece, and also movers (with coaching from Swedish choreographer Helena Högberg). Set design by ceramic artist Henny Linn Kjellberg is a central element of the piece. Costume design by Camille Assaf. Directed by Patrick Diamond. drömseminarium is a large-scale work, roughly 75 minutes in length, and is slated to premiere in 2011 in Sweden and the United States.

Listen to music from drömseminarium:
Längre in:

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Romanska Bågar:

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Listen to an interview with Ellen about drömseminarium:

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Resources:

drömseminarium

Companion Star

dream seminar blog

YouTube

dream seminar Facebook page

“Ellen Lindquist’s music is consistently excellent: spacious, but also dense and rich.”
—Friday, June 19, 2009, Johan Lif, Västmanlands Läns Tidning, Sweden

“Ellen Lindquists musik är genomgående utmärkt: spatiös, men också tät och innehållsrik.”
—Fredag 19 juni 2009, Johan Lif, Västmanlands Läns Tidning, Sverige Read more »

“When the process was changed to the artistic the results became magnificent. The final piece, Romanska Bågar, was billowing and beautiful, with a free rhythmic flow, richly-coloured instrumentation, and melodies that slid in and out of each other in shimmering balance. … For the Living and the Dead will be premiered in Sweden in 2009 — an event worth the wait.”
—Johan Lif, Västmanlands Läns Tidning, Sverige Read more »

soprano, bass, and chamber orchestra (flute/alto flute, oboe/English horn, clarinet, bass clarinet, horn, trombone, harp, piano, percussion, violin, viola, cello, contrabass)
[Swedish text: Tomas Tranströmer] Read more »