Tróndur Bogason (b. 1976, Tórshavn) is one of the Faroe Islands’ most uncompromising modernists, matching a flair for electronics with a decidedly theatrical instinct. Educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Music (1999–2007) with Ib Nørholm, Hans Abrahamsen and Bent Sørensen, and at The Hague’s Royal Conservatoire with Louis Andriessen (2003), Bogason emerged as a composer who treats space, texture and chance as equal partners.
That philosophy crystallised in Babel (2008): an aleatoric portrait for 11 musicians and electronics spread across three adjoining rooms. Audiences roam while four self‑contained works – Laika, Aliens, Babel and Asonata – unfold simultaneously, blurring borders between narrative and environment.
His daring has been recognised with five Nordic Council Music Prize nominations: Seven Musicians (2006), Investigations of a Dog (2008), Butterfly (2010), Barbara (2014) and, most recently, the double‑symphony Sólárið (Nos. 1 & 2), shortlisted in 2024. Commissioned for the Faroese Symphony Orchestra’s 40th anniversary, Sólárið layers orchestral blocks, chorus and electronics into a luminous, Celan‑inspired panorama of light.
Recent releases confirm his restless palette. The full‑length album The Distance Between Us (Tutl, 2024) features the single‑movement Crash, recorded with Ensemble Aldubáran and renowned for its fractured metallic sonorities, while his orchestral retelling of the award‑winning children’s play My Little Sister, the Monster continues to tour Nordic stages with live narration and animation.
Whether sculpting immersive installations or writing for full orchestra, Tróndur Bogason’s music offers a vivid snapshot of Faroese imagination on the cutting edge of the 21st century.
Tróndur Bogason Hansen – Worklist
| Title | Instrument | Year | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multivers | Vc, electronics | 2024 | 12min |
| Symfoni nr. 1&2 – Sólárið | Symphony orchestra | 2023 | 32 min |
| Pigen med brødet | Sax, SATB | 2023 | 8 min |
| Crash | Synfonietta | 2021 | 5 min |
| Rye wax | 2Perc, 2Vn, Vla, Vc, Cb, electronics | 2020 | 25 min |
| Pythagoras´ børn | MS, Cl, Perc, Cb, electronics | 2019 | 12 min |
| Højgaard fantasie | Organ | 2018 | 10 min |
| Night time | Cl, Perc, Cb | 2018 | 6 min |
| Skilja tit nú ella hvat? | Pno, Vn, Vc | 2017 | 9 min |
| That thou art blamed | SATB | 2016 | 5 min |
| Når jeg betænker | MS, Cl, Perc, Vla, Cb | 2015 | 8 min |
| 10th Sacrale | Picc, B.Cl, Vib, Pno, Org, Str.qv | 2014 | 8 min |
| Flugan | SATB | 2013 | 6 min |
| The distance between us | Pno, Vn, Vc, electronics | 2011 | 17 min |
| Don´t try this at a party | Synfonietta, Gtr, electronics | 2011 | 12 min |
| Barbara | perc, SATB, electronics | 2009 | 53 min |
| Svøvnurin | gtr, cl, perc, voice, electronics | 2009 | 12 min |
| Butterfly | pno, perc | 2009 | 17 min |
| Laika | pno | 2008 | 25 min |
| Glue | vln, vla, cl | 2008 | 7 min |
| Babel | string, woodwind, pno, trb, perc, electronics | 2008 | 60 min |
| Nocturne 1 | SATB | 2008 | 10 min |
| Investigations of a dog | trb, electronics | 2007 | 65 min |
| The puzzle | symfoni orchestra | 2007 | 14 min |
| Exchanges | pno | 2006 | 8 min |
| Kugellampen | cl, electronics | 2005 | 14 min |
| Aliens | pno, trb | 2004 | 20 min |
| Wer Herrscht? | vlc, acc, fl, voice | 2004 | 8 min |
| Asonata | string, electronics | 2004 | 12 min |
| Prælog | sinfonietta | 1999 | 6 min |
