Holberg Prize Fanfare

Ørjan Matre won the Holberg Prize fanfare competition in 2007.The Ludvig Holberg Memorial Fund invited young, Nordic composers to an open competition for a fanfare/ceremonial piece of music for the annual award ceremony for The Holberg International Memorial Prize.

Ørjan Matre (b. 1979) was born in Bergen and has a broad musical background. He began composing at an early age, but it was during his studies in composition with composer Rune Rebne that his musical curiosity was fully stimulated. Following this he has been studying composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music with Bjørn Kruse, Lasse Thoresen, Olav-Anton Thommessen and Henrik Hellstenius. 

Citation of the Jury:
“This fanfare, for three trumpets and one drum part, with it’s fine artistic qualities, is based on a characteristic melodic scale, that might create associations to the folk music from the Western region – the region where the Holberg Prize is situated. The composer also suggests the drum part optionally to be performed on “slåttetromme” – a special drum associated with a local playing tradition; a choice that will musically reinforce the connection to the Western region of Norway. This work also stands out from the rest of the contributions, due to its flexibility; in the score the composer suggests various performance alternatives of different lengths. The fanfare could thus easily be adapted to fit various needs during the prize ceremony.”