About
painting by Jette Hofman
Bio
Amsterdam-based composer Benjamin de Murashkin was born in Denmark in 1981, but grew up in Australia. After discovering a passion for classical music in his early teens he aimed to become a concert pianist...however before long a shift started taking place. While early on he had been looking at scores with an eye to being able to perform them he noticed that he was starting to wonder if he could composer scores of his own. He went on to study composition at conservatories in both Melbourne and Copenhagen, completing the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma (Solistklassen) at The Royal Danish Academy of Music in 2014.
Benjamin's creativity is ignited by exploring the boundary between intuitive and more systematically approached methods of composition in a language that bears influence of classical music’s past and present as well as contemporary film and popular styles. His music often fluctuates between meditative soundscapes and passages of great drama, with an underlying drive created through processes seeking organic development and resolution.
Benjamin's oeuvre spans from solo pieces to small ensemble, choir and orchestral works, with and without soloists. After several successful collaborations with the Copenhagen Philharmonic, Benjamin was appointed as the orchestra's composer-in-residence for the 2014-18 seasons with commissions including a piano concerto, premiered by Katrine Gislinge, and a symphony. After his residency he took on a long-standing passion-project of creating his own album. The result is a series of contemplations on ancient philosophy, Harmonia.
Another great passion of Benjamin’s is orchestration. He has completed orchestrations of Clara Schumann’s Three Romances for the Copenhagen Philharmonic and two Schubert lieder for the Aarhus Symphony orchestra. Other projects include orchestrating Bizet’s Carmen for a pocket-opera production by Malmö Opera and several operas and operettas for the Danish Opera Academy, as well as creating an orchestral suite of music from the musical The Devil's Apprentice by Madeline Myers for the Lyngby-Taarbek Symphony Orchestra.
As an arranger, Benjamin has collaboration with orchestras in Denmark, Norway and Sweden as they performed with such diverse popular artists as Tina Dico, Kim Larsen, Outlandish, Cody, Nabiha, Lucy Love, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Body Rhythm Factory and Dressed To Thrill.
Composing for film and radio has also featured in Benjamin's output, resulting in scoring Frelle Pedersen's feature Hundeliv, as well as several collaborations with Norwegian director Eirik Sæter Stordahl, scoring his radio dramas, Love Me Tinder, Brandø and Vildmarken, for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. Benjamin is currently scoring Stordahl's debut feature Lars er LOL.
Benjamin has studied composition with Brenton Broadstock, Bent Sørensen, Hans Abrahamsen and Niels Rosing-Schow, and worked with musicians such as The Copenhagen Philharmonic, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Danish Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Recherche, Kronos Quartet, Arditti Quartet, Michala Petri, Hymnia, Mythos, Toeac, Duo Rozemond & Bekkers and the Danish Broadcasting Corporation's Big Band.
Amsterdam-based composer Benjamin de Murashkin was born in Denmark in 1981, but grew up in Australia. After discovering a passion for classical music in his early teens he aimed to become a concert pianist...however before long a shift started taking place. While early on he had been looking at scores with an eye to being able to perform them he noticed that he was starting to wonder if he could composer scores of his own. He went on to study composition at conservatories in both Melbourne and Copenhagen, completing the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma (Solistklassen) at The Royal Danish Academy of Music in 2014.
Benjamin's creativity is ignited by exploring the boundary between intuitive and more systematically approached methods of composition in a language that bears influence of classical music’s past and present as well as contemporary film and popular styles. His music often fluctuates between meditative soundscapes and passages of great drama, with an underlying drive created through processes seeking organic development and resolution.
Benjamin's oeuvre spans from solo pieces to small ensemble, choir and orchestral works, with and without soloists. After several successful collaborations with the Copenhagen Philharmonic, Benjamin was appointed as the orchestra's composer-in-residence for the 2014-18 seasons with commissions including a piano concerto, premiered by Katrine Gislinge, and a symphony. After his residency he took on a long-standing passion-project of creating his own album. The result is a series of contemplations on ancient philosophy, Harmonia.
Another great passion of Benjamin’s is orchestration. He has completed orchestrations of Clara Schumann’s Three Romances for the Copenhagen Philharmonic and two Schubert lieder for the Aarhus Symphony orchestra. Other projects include orchestrating Bizet’s Carmen for a pocket-opera production by Malmö Opera and several operas and operettas for the Danish Opera Academy, as well as creating an orchestral suite of music from the musical The Devil's Apprentice by Madeline Myers for the Lyngby-Taarbek Symphony Orchestra.
As an arranger, Benjamin has collaboration with orchestras in Denmark, Norway and Sweden as they performed with such diverse popular artists as Tina Dico, Kim Larsen, Outlandish, Cody, Nabiha, Lucy Love, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Body Rhythm Factory and Dressed To Thrill.
Composing for film and radio has also featured in Benjamin's output, resulting in scoring Frelle Pedersen's feature Hundeliv, as well as several collaborations with Norwegian director Eirik Sæter Stordahl, scoring his radio dramas, Love Me Tinder, Brandø and Vildmarken, for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. Benjamin is currently scoring Stordahl's debut feature Lars er LOL.
Benjamin has studied composition with Brenton Broadstock, Bent Sørensen, Hans Abrahamsen and Niels Rosing-Schow, and worked with musicians such as The Copenhagen Philharmonic, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Danish Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Recherche, Kronos Quartet, Arditti Quartet, Michala Petri, Hymnia, Mythos, Toeac, Duo Rozemond & Bekkers and the Danish Broadcasting Corporation's Big Band.