Kjell Flem was born 1943 in Ålesund, and has been active in the Norwegian music community as a composer, organist, pianist, music teacher and critic. He studied to become a precentor at the Conservatories in Oslo and Bergen from 1964 to 1969. After his organ debut in 1968 he was awarded an artist’s grant from the government, which enabled him to continue his studies at the Sibelius Academy in Finland. There he studied organ with Enzio Forsblom and composition with…
Kjell Flem was born 1943 in Ålesund, and has been active in the Norwegian music community as a composer, organist, pianist, music teacher and critic. He studied to become a precentor at the Conservatories in Oslo and Bergen from 1964 to 1969. After his organ debut in 1968 he was awarded an artist’s grant from the government, which enabled him to continue his studies at the Sibelius Academy in Finland. There he studied organ with Enzio Forsblom and composition with Einar Englund and Einojuhani Rautavaara. Scholarships from St. Olaf College and Northern Illinois University brought him to the USA, where he completed his Bachelor of Music degree and Master of Music degree in theory and composition. Here his teachers in composition were Arthur Campbell and Oscar Haugland. In 1986-87 he did research on contemporary Japanese music as a Japan Foundation scholar in Tokyo. During his stay in Tokyo he also studied with the renowned Japanese composer Akira Miyoshi. In addition to composing, he is currently teaching music in his hometown of Ålesund, Norway, and is a highly regarded music critic.
Kjell Flem’s list of works is not large. He devotes a great deal of time to writing each piece because, as he says, those magical moments of inspiration are few and far between.
2002