Kjetil Bjerkestrand


Kjetil Bjerkestrand is a Norwegian musician, composer, arranger and record producer, known as music arranger for artists like Ray Charles, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Keith Emerson, Ian Hunter, Jon Lord, Ute Lemper and a-ha. As a musician, he has participated in recordings with a-ha, Ray Charles, Ute Lemper, Ian Hunter, Dance with a Stranger, DumDum Boys, Jonas Fjeld Band, Marius Müller, TNT, Arve Tellefsen, Bobbysocks, Bjørn Eidsvåg, Carola Häggkvist and Dee Dee Bridgewater.

Career

As the son and grandson of organists, playing the organ came naturally to Bjerkestrand and he started early to compose music as well. He composed music for several films and television series, many of them in collaboration with Magne Furuholmen under the name Timbersound. He received Gammleng-prisen in 1988 in the class facility, and for the music to the TV series Hotel Oslo he received Edvard Prize 1998 in the class Other form of art, together with Magne Furuholmen. He has produced albums for Anne Grete Preus, a-ha, Lynni Treekrem and Herborg Kråkevik. Along with the saxophonist Tore Brunborg, he has released two albums with Christmas music and hymns. He arranged the music for concerts by Sissel Kyrkjebø in Salt Lake City, in front of The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra.
In 2009 Bjerkestrand composed music for the play Sangen om den røde rubin, based on the novel by the same name, together with Anne Grete Preus. In 2010 he released his first solo album Piano Poems on the label Kirkelig Kulturverksted.

Honors