Biography
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Born
29 December 1973 (age 51)
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Born In
Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje, composer and performer (born Dec. 29th 1973 in Trondheim, Norway), finished composition studies at the Norwegian State Academy of Music in Oslo in 2000. Her music has been heard all over Europe as well as in Japan, China, Canada, USA and eastern Russia. Her composed works have been performed by Klangforum Wien, Oslo Sinfonietta, The Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Fretwork, TM+, Arve Tellefsen, Cikada and Vertavo string quartets, Quatuor Renoir, Ticom, crashEnsemble, Torben Snekkestad, SPUNK, Frode Haltli, Rolf-Erik Nystrøm and Håkon Thelin in POING among others. Portrait concerts with her music has been heard in Toronto and Vienna, and she has received many awards and commissions from throughout the world such as the International Rostrum of Composers in Paris for composers below 30 years of age, she has received the Norwegian Edvard prize (work of the year) twice, second prize at the Russolo Foundation, and in 2001 she was the first composer ever to receive the Arne Nordheim prize. Her solo album «Voice», made in collaboration with Jazzkammer, got a Distinction Award at Prix Ars Electronica in 2003.
Ratkje is active as a singer/voice user and electronics player as well as studio engineer, mainly in connection with the contemporary improvisation ensemble SPUNK or as a solo artist. Other groups are the metal band Trinacria, duo with Jaap Blonk, the performance trio Agrare and a workers' songs collaboration with the acoustic trio POING. Ratkje has performed her own music for films, dance and theatre performances, installations, and numerous other projects. In 2003, she played a leading part in her own opera, based on the texts from the Nag Hammadi Library. In 2005 she performed the voice solo part of her first big work for orchestra, commissioned by Radio France.
Her scores are found at the Norwegian Music Information Centre and her records are released on Tzadik, rune grammofon, ECM, Kontrans, Albedo, Aurora, Asphodel, Important Records and others. Her homepage may be visited at www.ratkje.com
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