KATARINA LEYMAN

The composer Katarina Leyman, originally from the island Orust on the west coast of Sweden, now lives and works in Stockholm. For 6 years she studied music in Boston, USA, leading to dual bachelor's degrees in film scoring and composition at Berklee College of Music, and a master's degree in composition at New England Conservatory of Music. She’s also studied composition and music theory pedagogy at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. She has taught music composition, arranging, film scoring, music theory and piano etc. at several specialized music schools and have on many occasions held pre-concert talks about other composer’s music as well as her own.

Color and texture, shape and movement are often starting points, and form-building elements in Katarinas music. Ideas for compositions can emanate from various natural phenomena such as fish shoals, water molecules, volcanic activities, or clouds…

Katarina is composing music for the symphony orchestra, different settings of chamber ensembles and choirs. She also composes music drama and film music. An important event in Katarina’s career was the commission by the Swedish Radio Berwaldhallen, for a large orchestral work Solar Flares that was premiered in Berwaldhallen by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra at the Baltic Sea Festival 2010. Solar Flares has since then been performed by several orchestras.

Her music has been performed in Europe, USA, South America, and Russia, at different music festivals such as Baltic Sea Festival 2010, ISCM World New Music Days Zagreb 2011, Nordic Music Days Reykjavik 2011, the Brass festival Signal Gävle 2014, Saxå chamber music festival 2015, Sound of Stockholm 2016, and Swedish Music Spring 2022. The orchestral music has been performed by the Nordiska Kammarorkestern, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra, Gävle Symphony Orchestra, the Wermlandsopera Symphony Orchestra and Västerås Chamber Orchestra, led by conductors such as Chloé Van Soeterstède, Anna-Maria Helsing, Sakari Oramo, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Paul Mägi, Clemens Schuldt, Simon Crawford Phillips, Andrew Manze, Martin Yates, Michael Bartosch, Glenn Mossop, Jaime Martín, Daniel Cohen, Stefan Asbury, Damian Iorio, Rumon Gamba, Joana Carneiro and Luca Pfaff. 

Intertwine: concerto for viola and chamber orchestra was premiered in Västerås Concert Hall October 2025 by soloist Sigge Nisbeth and the Västerås Sinfonietta. The concert season 2022/2023 Katarina was the composer in residence for the Västerås Sinfonietta and three orchestral works were performed. Undulating Blue, a commission for the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, was premiered in Berwaldhallen 2019 and subsequently nominated for The Swedish Music Publishers Association Award.

2012 – 2015 Katarina was the Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra’s composer in residence. The assignment included four commissions for the orchestra: Concerto for Orchestra “An Odyssey”, Clarinet Concerto “Verdure” (nominated for the Swedish Music Publishers Association Award 2015), Roller Coaster Super 8 and Transient Skies a large-scale work for the orchestra in four movements (nominated for the Swedish Music Publishers Association Award 2013). 

2014 the orchestral piece King of Clouds won second prize at a composition contest in St. Petersburg, Russia. 

The chamber music repertoire includes pieces for solo instruments and ensembles of varied formats. A portrait CD Vattenklanger featuring some of her chamber music was released in 2019. During the season 2017/18 Tales of Lost Times for solo viola, a piece commissioned by the Stockholm Concert and ECHO (European Concert Hall Organisation) for the ECHO Rising Star Ellen Nisbeth, was performed in more than 17 European concert halls.

Her carrier has mainly been in the contemporary classical realm but the intention to compose music for the film has always been there. 2019 she composed the score for the short movie “Vägen” (the Way), a film by Ove Valeskog as part of the Live Score Festival 2025 in Stockholm. 2002 the music for the short movie “Se mig” (See me), a film without dialogue and purely through-composed music.

A major brakethrough in Katarina’s career was the commission by the Swedish Radio Berwaldhallen for an orchestral work Solar Flares that was premiered in Berwaldhallen by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra at the Baltic Sea Festival 2010. Solar Flares has since then been performed by several orchestras.

EDUCATION

• Composition studies, Royal College of Music in Stockholm, 2002–2005. Diploma Concert Stockholm Concert Hall 2006.
• Teacher's certificate in Music Theory, Royal College of Music in Stockholm, 2000–2002
• Master of Art in Composition, Academic Honors, New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, MA, USA, 1993-1995
• Dual bachelor’s degrees in composition and film scoring, Summa Cum Laude, Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA, USA, 1989-1993
• Sculpture and painting, Painter’s school Idun Lovén, Stockholm 1987-1989
• Painting, preparatory art school, TBV, Stockholm, 1985–1987
• Two-year preparatory music school, Fridhems Folkhögskola, Svalöv 1983-1985

COURSES

• EAM studies at the Electro-acoustic music studio in Stockholm (EMS) 1999 
• Multimedia production for musicians, Royal College of Music, Stockholm/AF Kultur Media -98
• Course in computer science and music programs, Royal College of Music in Stockholm/AF Kultur Media, spring 1998

ASSOCIATIONS:

The Swedish Society of Composer ’FST’ (board member from 2023, member from 2007), Samtida musik  (board member 2016-18), STIM, URUK, KVAST, Sveriges orkesterförening (Board member from 2017)

TEACHER AND LECTURER (selection)

• Freelance teacher and lecturer (1982 -): composition, arranging, orchestration, music theory, film scoring, piano
• Pre-concert talks, Stockholm Concert Hall, 2011-2013
• Teacher at the musicology department, Stockholm university, 2006–2011: music theory.
• Teacher at Nordiska Musikgymnasiet, 2002–2011: music theory, arranging, composition, piano

GRANTS AND AWARDS

• Swedish art council 2-year grant 2022-2023
• Swedish art council grant 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019
• Stim grant 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020
• Undulating Blue was nominated for The Swedish Music Publishers Association Award 2019 in the orchestral category
• Clarinet concerto: Verdure was nominated for The Swedish Music Publishers Association Award 2015
• King of Clouds for orchestra was awarded second prize in the ”All Russian Composers Competition named after Andrey Petrov” September 19th, St. Petersburg, Russia
• Transient Skies for orchestra was nominated for The Swedish Music Publishers Association Award 2013,
• Swarms was representing Sweden in the international music competition Rostrum 2012.
• Helge Ax:son Johnsons Stiftelse grant 1991, 1993, 1994, 2000
• Anna Whitlocks minnesfond grant 1993 - 1995
• New England Conservatory Scholarship, 1993 - 1995
• Berklee College of Music Achievement Scholarship, 1992, 1993
• Gålö grant, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993
• Möten for string quartet reached the finale of the composition contest ”Creative Women”, Örebro Chamber music Celebration 1998.
• Trio for violin, cello and piano won the New England Conservatory's trio composition contest 1994.
• Winner of the Soren Christensen Achievement Award in Film Scoring 1992, Berklee College of Music.

EXTENSIONS

• Degree of Bachelor of Science with a major in Conservation with Specialization in Conservation of Cultural Heritage Objects. Gothenburg University, 2022