Sunleif Rasmussen

Sunleif Rasmussen (born March 19, 1961 in Sandur in the Faroe Islands) is the foremost Faroese composer of classical music.

Rasmussen studied in Norway, then returned to Tórshavn in the Faroes as a music teacher and jazz pianist. From 1990 to 1995 he studied musical composition at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen under Ib Nørholm and electronic music under Ivar Frounberg. In 1992 he received grants from the Leonnie Sonning Foundation and the Danish Composer's Society.

He also became familiar with spectral music, which has its roots at the IRCAM in Paris, and the work of composers such as Tristan Murail. Rasmussen has produced a number of works combining electronic and acoustic instruments, some produced in co-operation with DIEM (the Danish Institute for Electro-Acoustic Music).

In 1997, he was awarded a three-year grant from the Danish State Arts Foundation.

In 2002, he won the Nordic Council Music Prize for his Symphony no. 1 - "Oceanic Days", which, in the NOMUS committee description: "derives its inspiration from Faroese nature and from age-old Faroese hymns, from which Rasmussen has created a work of comprehensive dimensions. It radiates a natural artistic integrity, combining tightness and structure with lyric feeling."

In 2004, he was visiting composer at the prestigious Korsholm Festival in Finland, while in 2010, he received the Faroese Cultural Prize from the Faroese Department of Culture. In 2013, he participated in the residency and concert series Other Minds in San Francisco.

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