CLAUS EFLAND | CONDUCTOR Claus Efland is one of Scandinavia’s foremost conductors. As well as offering core repertoire, Claus is noted for his affinity with, and championship of, Nordic music, especially that of fellow Dane Carl Nielsen. They were born on the same island and Claus had the privilege of performing on Nielsen’s Scarampella violin while studying in Denmark. Claus now conducts worldwide, particularly relishing the chance to perform works by Nielsen, Grieg, Sibelius, Svendsen and others, some as first performances. Winning second prize in the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in London, 2004, brought Claus to international attention. Since then, his busy schedule has taken him throughout Scandinavia, and to England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Lithuania, Ireland and South America. He has worked as a guest with the London Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, RTÉ National Orchestra of Ireland, Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Brandenburger Symphoniker; with Danish symphony orchestras in Odense and Sønderborg, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonietta Riga, Orquesta Filharmónica de Mexico City, Orquesta Sinfonica Provincial de Santa Fe (Argentina) and Orquesta de Cadaques (Spain). In 2016 he stepped in at short notice to conduct a performance of Brahms third symphony with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra. Soloists with whom Claus has worked include Albrecht Meyer, Nikolai Demidenko, Natalie Clein, Craig Ogden, Thomas Trotter and Rita Cullis. Claus also enjoys a close relationship with Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg with whom, since 2011, he has given a series of sell-out New Year’s Day concerts. Claus has established a strong reputation in opera. In 2010 he conducted the critically acclaimed production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola with the Kammerakademie Potsdam for Potsdam Winteroper, with further performances at the Brandenburger Theater. In Rome, he conducted a notable production of La Traviata at Teatro dell’ Opera with further stagings at the Teatro Lirico e Sperimentale, Spoleto and with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris. In 2015 Claus received the prestigious Reumert Award, Denmark’s leading award for theatre, for his contribution as conductor of a new opera by Californian-born composer Andy Pape. The opera was first staged by Opera Funen, Denmark, with Claus conducting the Odense Symphony Orchestra for the production which was named Opera of the Year. Future engagements include performances with Aarhus Symphony, Komische Oper Berlin, Brandenburger Symphoniker, Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Orquesta Sinfonica Provencial de Santa Fe (Argentina), and Orquesta Filarmonica de Goias (Brazil). For 2019-20, Claus will conduct a new production of Mozart’s The Abduction of the Seraglio for Danish National Opera. Trained initially as a violinist, Claus studied conducting at London Royal College of Music and the Paris Conservatoire. After winning countless accolades, including the renowned Scandinavian Léonie Sonning Award for the most talented Danish conductor of his generation, Claus took up an invitation from Sir Colin Davis 2005 to become his assistant at the Dresden Staatskapelle. Claus is an exclusive artist with Challenge Records. His latest CD, Nordic Atmospheres with Sinfonietta Riga, earned rave reviews internationally and was recommended as one of the best recordings of Scandinavian music on BBC Radio 3’s ‘Building a Library’. .