Vocals Latvian Radio Choir (LV)
The Latvian Radio Choir was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Performance in 2014. Founded in 1940 the Latvian Radio Choir is considered to be one of the most boldly-innovative choirs in Europe today. Their vast repertoire extends from early Renaissance to Baroque music to complex works of contemporary classical music. Latvian Radio Choir gives up to 60 concerts a year around the world. This is their second collaboration with Hotel Pro Forma, where they also perform in their modern classic OPERATION : ORFEO. They are lead by conductors Sigvards Klava and Kaspars Putnins.
Conductor Kaspars Putnins (LV)
Kaspars Putnins (1966 – ) is a staunch supporter of new vocal music which for his choir means performing challenging and developing music that often leads them into unexplored territory. He has collaborated with various Baltic composers to develop works of new musical language and expression. He has initiated several musical-theatre productions, often involving the Latvian Radio Choir in stagings and visual artists. He has been the conductor of the Latvian Radio Choir since 1992, and has toured all over the world and is a regular guest conductor at the BBC Singers, Netherlands Chamber Choir and the Vocal Ensemble of Stuttgart. He is the recipient of the BBCs Silver Rose Bowl award and winner of the Latvian Music Grand Prix.
Composer The Irrepressibles (UK)
Formed in 2002, The Irrepressibles are a ”performance pop orchestra” created by artist and composer Jamie McDermott. Described by The Sunday Times as “an enchantingly theatrical pop extravaganza” the band attempt to bring together the worlds of classical orchestration, art, and pop music. They have recorded one studio album, Mirror Mirror and the EP From The Circus to the Sea, both of which have garnered critical acclaim internationally. The Irrepressibles perform a ’spectacle’ show, which brings together choreography, interactive set, lighting installation and musical performance to inspire the emotions of the ”inner child” of their audiences. As a group, they have been compared to David Bowie, Kate Bush, opera from the Baroque era, and the KLF.
Composer Santa Ratniece (LV)
The Latvian composer Santa Ratniece (1977 – ) is considered by many to be one of the most promising young composers in the Baltic region today. She studied music theory at Darzin’s College of Music in Riga and finished in 1996. She gained a Bachelor’s Degree of Arts in 2002 in composition at J. Vitols Latvia Academy of Music, and a Master’s Degree of Arts at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre with notable Estonian composer Helena Tulve in 2007. Music by Santa Ratniece since has been performed by Latvian Radio Choir, NYYD Ensemble, Deutsch-Skandinavische Jugend-Philharmonie, Ensemble Reflexion K, Arditti Quartet and Nederlands Kamerkoor. She has won several prizes for her work and participated in numerous festivals around the world.
Composer Gilbert Nouno (FR)
Gilbert Nouno (1970 – ) is a composer, teacher, a recording sound artist and a researcher at Ircam in Paris. As an electronic musician, he realizes art and music technology for composers like Jonathan Harvey, Brian Ferneyhough, Michaël Levinas, Pierre Boulez and the jazz saxophonist Steve Coleman. He was awarded the Villa Medicis Roma grant in 2010/2011 and the Villa Kujoyama Kyoto grant in 2007. His recent compositional projects include commissions by the Hateyva Contemporary Music Festival in Tel Aviv. He holds a Masters and PhD degree in acoustics and signal processing applied to music from Ircam and University of Paris.
Costume design Henrik Vibskov (DK)
Henrik Vibskov (1972 – ) is one of the most recognised fashion designers in Scandinavia today. Henrik Vibskov graduated from Central St. Martin’s in 2001. He is currently the only Scandinavian designer on the official show schedule of the Paris Men’s Fashion Week. While known for his fashion label, he is also known for creating a multitude of universes which stand in relation to each collection. He also tours as the drummer for electronic musician Trentemøller, and has exhibited at art museums and galleries around the world.
Manga drawings Hikaru Hayashi (JP)
Hikaru Hayashi (1961 – ) began his career in the Japanese manga world as an apprentice with well-known artists such as Hajime Furukawa and Noriyoshi Inoue after graduating from from Tokyo Metropolitan University in philosophy. In 1997 he founded the manga design company Go Office, which has among other works published a comprehensive How To Draw Manga series of books, which serve as inspiration for the drawings and animations used in War Sum Up.
Concept, libretto from classic Noh-theatre, edited by Willie Flindt (DK)
Willie Flindt (1942 – ) is trained as a stage director in Denmark, UK and Japan. He is a qualified Noh-actor, and has studied Noh-theatre’s instrumental music at Tokyo University of Arts. He studied Japanese language, theatrical history and music anthropology at Waseda University, Tokyo and Japanese language and literature at University of Copenhagen. He has directed numerous performances in Denmark and abroad, and has collaborated on numerous occasions with Kirsten Dehlholm and Hotel Pro Forma, of which he is a co-founder, most recently with the highly-acclaimed production Theremin (2004).
Light design Jesper Kongshaug (DK)
Jesper Kongshaug (1956 – ) is widely recognized as Denmark’s most radical and innovative light designer. He has most recently created the light design for Akram Khan’s Vertical Roads(2010) at Sadler’s Wells and Paul Ruder’s Dancer in the Dark (2010) at the Royal Danish Theatre. Besides theatre light he creates light for buildings and architectural projects. He is a long-time collaborator of Kirsten Dehlholm and his productions with Hotel Pro Forma have included, among others, Relief (2008), Operation : Orfeo (2007, 1993) and I only appear to be dead (2004).
Concept, direction Kirsten Dehlholm
With a background in the visual arts, Kirsten Dehlholm (1945 – ) has worked with performance art for over 30 years. She began with Billedstofteater (Theatre of Images) from 1977 to 1984, and she founded Hotel Pro Forma in 1985. She has created well over 100 performances, ranging from site-specific performances for museums, city halls and other architecturally significant buildings, to performances for prestigious venues around the world, including the Venice Biennale, Berliner Festspiele and Brooklyn Academy of Music.
