Stephan Hodel Composer
Stephan
Hodel
is a composer
living and working in Bern, Switzerland. His music has been performed by amazing artists such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Festival Strings Lucerne, or the English National Ballet.
Stephan found his own personal voice through a curiosity about different musical styles and cultures and a keen interest in writing for large ensembles. Strongly based and educated in classical music, his artistic aim is to bring other genres, such as jazz, folk music or hip hop, into the classical sphere.
Recent career highlights include a ballet score for the English National Ballet’s Choreographics at the Barbican Centre London, UK, Happenstance for solo trumpet and winds, written for Giuliano Sommerhalder, premiered at Zofin Palace Prague, Czech Republic, or Circles for two clarinets, written for Irene Chen and Dimitri Ashkenazy.
Two of Stephan’s orchestral songs, written for soprano Katerina Mina, were recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Grzegorz Nowak, and PC-24 – a Musical Journey over the Alps, commissioned by Dan Dodds and the Festival Strings Lucerne, commemorates the launch of a new jet aircraft.
The Power of Musick finally is a large-scale oratorio for choir, orchestra, soloists, and rapper. This work is a collaboration with Swiss rapper Greis, and it celebrates the universal power of music and was premiered at KKL Luzern, Switzerland.
Another focus of his writing is music for children. Jeanloup & Etienne is an interactive concert for orchestra and clown and introduces young children to the world of classical music and the orchestra. Here Stephan takes on his alter ego, conductor Etienne.
His two shows Drumming with Kubbe and Robin the Little Seal are both based on children’s books and are successfully touring in China, performed by West End Philharmonics Beijing. Besides composing Stephan lectures orchestration at the University of Arts in Bern (HKB).
He is a graduate of the Royal College of Music in London, UK, where he completed his postgraduate studies with distinction in composition with Joseph Horovitz. Also at the RCM he was awarded the Cobbett and Hurlstone Prize for outstanding creative achievement. He studied jazz composition and arranging at Berklee College of Music in Boston and holds an MA in conducting and music education from Hochschule Luzern Musik.