Pernille is a Norwegian/Irish composer based in London whose work explores a diverse range of musical styles, often inspired by the vivid landscapes of rural Norway and other natural images. She has previously drawn upon the vocal traditions of the Sami as inspiration for her cello solo, Shadows and experimented with the natural music of gibbon song alongside ‘human’ music in her piece Rhapsody for Gibbons, a collaborative project with Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre.
The winner of the GCNA Franco Proposal Contest, her two pieces for solo carillon (Moonglades) were premiered at the GCNA’s annual congress in Massachusetts and subsequently toured by Joey Brink. Pernille’s other notable prizes include the British Double Reed Society Composition Competition Under-19 Prize for which she wrote a cor anglais solo (Embers) for Henry Clay, and an Honourable Mention in the Composers Concordance Annual Composition Competition for her jazz sextet Responsibility. She was a three time Martin Read Foundation Young Composer, receiving commissions for their Festival of Contemporary Music and has since returned for a performance of her piece Roots: Carrot Music. Recent works include her low string trio Penumbra, commissioned for the Budleigh Salterton Music Festival which has since received its Finnish premiere at the Sinetän Musiikkijuhlat, and “Smiling Doesn’t Win You Gold Medals” which was performed at Dumfries House by members of The Cumnock Tryst Ensemble.
Pernille recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Music where she studied under scholarship with Helen Grime and is now pursuing a Master of Composition (Guildhall Artist) at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying with Dr Sylvia Lim as a Guildhall Scholar. She is a former pupil of Morgan Hayes and Dr Pande Shahov and has worked with James MacMillan and Oscar Bettison at the first Cumnock Tryst Summer School.