Emil Ernström earned his Masters in Composition from Malmö Academy of Music in 2022, where he studied with Bent Sørensen and Alessandro Perini. Originally from Stockholm, Emil grew up in Sweden, Hungary, and the United States where he currently resides in Philadelphia. But, regardless of country, music has always been a constant companion.
– I have been regularly composing since I was about 13 years old. What I like about composing music is that it engages the two sides of how I think. On the one hand, music has many formal elements and can be logically picked apart and analyzed. On the other hand, music has this emotional core that is very subjective and impossible to fully explain in words or numbers. The push and pull between those two aspects is what makes composing music so exciting for me.
From electronic to classical music
Even if music has always formed part of Emil’s life, he points out that his style has changed a lot over the years. From mainly listening to film scores and electronic music to opening his ears to classical and contemporary instrumental music. Nowadays he focuses on bringing all his musical interests together in his composing.
– I love the rich tonal harmony of late Romanticism and jazz and try to use that language in new and unfamiliar ways. I often try to combine that with more contemporary extended techniques, as well as some ideas from Minimalist music, where a musical idea will shift gradually over time.
Listen to Emil Ernström's Dance Sequences on Soundcloud
The Next Festival of Emerging Artists 2023
The Next Festival of Emerging Artists is easiest described as a multi-week experience where young performers and composers are provided with an immersion into 21st century music. By mixing performances, individual lessons, workshops, and masterclasses the festival aims to cultivate the next generation of 360° artists. It is also a gift to the audiences who get to experience their talents live and getting selected to partake is no small feat.
– I submitted a string orchestra piece I wrote while studying in Malmö, which had been performed by Musica Vitae, who did an amazing job reading and recording the piece. I felt very good about it, but it was still nerve-wracking since the selection process took several months, and I got multiple emails saying I was in the top 20 applicants… then top 5. I felt very lucky and surprised when I finally learned that I had been selected!
– This obviously a great steppingstone for me since I want to keep composing and experiencing music. Things I would love to do in the future would be exploring composing for opera, and I’m also considering getting a Phd to teach composition on the collegiate level.