Bengt Ollén (born 17 August 1950) is a Swedish

choral A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

conductor, music teacher,

adjudicator An adjudicator is someone who presides, judges, and arbitrates during a formal dispute or competition. They have numerous purposes, including preliminary legal judgments, to determine applicant eligibility, or to assess contenders' performan ...

and lecturer. In 1995 Ollén founded Sofia Vokalensemble that has emerged as one of the world's leading amateur choirs.

Career

Ollén was born in

Lidköping Lidköping () is a locality and the seat of Lidköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about 40,000 inhabitants in 2021. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Vänern and sometimes refers to itself as "Lidkö ...

, Sweden. After studying mechanical engineering at

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology (, commonly referred to as Chalmers) is a private university, private research university located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Chalmers focuses on engineering and science, but more broadly it also conducts research ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

Ollén received his Master's Degree in 1976. After briefly working at Swedish ball-bearing company

SKF AB SKF (, 'Swedish Ball Bearing Factory') is a Swedish bearing (mechanical), bearing and seal (mechanical), seal manufacturing company founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1907. The company manufactures and supplies bearings, seals, lubrication an ...

in Gothenburg he decided that he loved music more than mechanics. Ollén then studied music at the

Högskolan för scen och musik The Academy of Music and Drama (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Högskolan för scen och musik'') at the University of Gothenburg is a school for music, composition, opera singing, music staging, teaching of music and creative subjects in Gothenburg ...

at the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg () is a List of universities in Sweden, university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current List of universities in Sweden#Public universities, S ...

in Sweden for professors Gösta Ohlin and Gunnar Eriksson. In 1981 he founded the still active vocal ensemble ''Amanda'' in Gothenburg, and in 1995 he founded Sofia Vokalensemble in Stockholm, that won the

European Grand Prix for Choral Singing The European Grand Prix for Choral Singing (in French, Grand Prix Européen de Chant Choral, commonly abbreviated as European Choral Grand Prix or EGP) is an annual choral competition between the winners of six European choral competitions. It was ...

in 2012. In 2015

Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio Aktiebolag, AB (; "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio programming, radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a television ...

, the Swedish

public-broadcasting Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

system, appointed Sofia Vokalensemble under Bengt Ollén as Sweden's representative in

Let the Peoples Sing ''Let the Peoples Sing'' (known until 1964 as ''Let the People Sing'') is an international choral competition currently organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The final, encompassing three categories and around ten choirs, is offered ...

(LTPS), an international choir competition organized by the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

(EBU). Ollén works as choral conductor and teacher in choral singing at

Stockholms Musikgymnasium Kungsholmens gymnasium is an upper secondary school () located on the island of Kungsholmen in Stockholm, Sweden. The school is divided into a Swedish language, Swedish Section, an English-speaking International Section, and a Music Section which u ...

, a highly competitive High School program combining

Natural Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

and

Social Science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

programs with advanced

courses. Stockholms Musikgymnasium accepts students based on a combination of

grade point average Grading in education is the application of standardized Measurement, measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentage ...

, singing

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece gi ...

s and tests in

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

. In the 14th International Choir Competition in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in 2013 a Stockholms Musikgymnasium class choir directed by Ollén participated in three categories (''Mixed choirs'', ''Male choirs'' and ''Female choirs'') and won gold in all, plus the ''Grand Prix'' for the entire competition. In 2016 Ollén once again brought a Stockholms Musikgymnasium class choir to an international competition, this time to the 10th International Choir Competition in

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, where the choir won the same categories plus the ''Grand Prix''. Ollén is frequently invited as guest lecturer and choir conductor at universities, choir festivals and concerts in Sweden and abroad, and as judge at international choral competitions. Ollén arranged the Sweden folk song '' Trilo'' in 2017 and his arrangement has been described as "highly atmospheric music".

Personal life

Ollén lives in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

but spends much of his time in

Dala-Floda Dala-Floda or Floda is a locality situated in Gagnef Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Nor ...

where he owns an old cottage and sometimes helps to arrange concerts. He is married and has an adult daughter.

References

External links

*
Bengt Ollén in Choral Guide's Who is Who in Choral Singing

Sofia Vokalensemble's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ollen, Bengt 1950 births Living people People from Lidköping Chalmers University of Technology alumni 21st-century Swedish conductors (music) Swedish choral conductors Swedish music educators Musicians from Västra Götaland County