Henrik Skram

Anne Valeur

Biography

Henrik Skram, one of Scandinavia’s most sought-after film composers, studied classical composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

In 2011, he scored the feature film 90 Minutes which received international acclaim. Henrik Skram’s score was nominated for both an Amanda Award and shortlisted for the World Soundtrack Awards (Public Choice Award) and Scoremagazine wrote: “if you want my advice, do not pass on this one. It's beautiful. Up there with Zbigniew Preisner's mesmerizing waltzes and musical fields, or the beautiful themes of Jan A.P.Kaczmarek. Chamber-musical and melancholic, it's a must-listen for this year.”

In 2015, he was awarded the Golden Screen Award for Best Original Music for the documentary Ballet Boys and received a nomination for the International Film Music Critics Award (IFMCA) for the same film. 2016 saw the premiere of two feature films with a film score by Henrik Skram: Tordenskjold & Kold (dir. Henrik Ruben Genz) and All The Beauty (dir. Aasne Vaa Greibrokk), followed by his extensive work on the score for the immensely successful 24-episode TV series Snøfall, produced by NRK (Norwegian National Broadcasting). A massive undertaking with over 5 hours of recorded orchestral music, which earned the composer his second Golden Screen Award for Best Original Score as well as a nomination as the Norwegian candidate for the 2018 Harpa Nordic Film Composer Award.

In 2018, the commissioned work Emerge for cello and orchestra was premiered with cellist Audun Sandvik and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. The piece explores tonality as an emergent quality of the musical material and is an extension of Henrik Skram’s musical language found in his works for film. It will be released on the album Traces of Lament on the label LAWO in 2022.

Also in 2018, Skram debuted as composer for ballet with The Hamlet Complex at the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet in Oslo, with acclaimed choreographer Alan Lucien Øyen in collaboration with Winter Guests, reimaged due to its great success in 2020 as The Hamlet Complex Redux.

Henrik Skram’s work for stage also encompasses the musical drama for children Mia & the Troll Factory (Mia & Trollfabrikken) with a script by Gudrun Skretting and a premiere by The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2019 and the theatrical version of Maja Lunde´s The Snowsister (Snøsøstera) at Det Norske Teatret (2021).

His most recent film scores include the music for the feature films Rose (dir. Niels Arden Oplev) and The Kiss (Kysset), directed by Bille August.

Henrik Skram is published worldwide by Wilhem Hansen / Wise Music DK.

Film

The Kiss (Kysset), 2022
Directed by Bille August
Feature Film

Rose, 2021
Directed by Niels Arden Oplev
Feature Film

Clue: The Maltese Mystery, 2021
Directed by Thale Persen
Feature Film

Hello World, 2020
Directed by Kenneth Elvebakk
Documentary

Søskensjokk, 2020
Directed by Solveig Wedøe
TV series

Tordenskjold & Kold, 2016
Directed by Henrik Ruben Genz
Feature Film

Alt det vakre (All the Beauty), 2016
Directed by Aasne Vaa Greibrokk
Feature Film

Snøfall (Snowfall), 2016
Directed by Synne Teksum, Ida Sagmo Tvedtke
TV series, 24 episodes

Amnesia, 2014
Directed by Nini Bull Robsahm
Feature Film

Ballettguttene (Ballet Boys), 2014
Directde by Kenneth Elvebakk
Documentary

Den Som Søker (Crestfallen), 2013
Directed by Johan Jundh
Feature Film

90 Minuter (90 Minutes), 2012
Directed by Eva Sørhaug
Feature Film

Awards

Harpa Film Composer Award 2018 (nominated for Snøfall)

Gullruten (Golden Screen) 2016 for Best Music (Snøfall)

Gullruten (Golden Screen) 2014 for Best Music (Ballet Boys)

International Film Music Critics Award 2014 for Best Music (nominated for Ballet Boys)

Statens Kunststipend 2014

World Soundtrack Awards 2013 (Public Choice Award, shortlisted for 90 Minutes)

Lutoslawski Award for Young Composers 1998 - First Prize

FILMSCORE

KYSSET (THE KISS)

Director: Bille August
Music: Henrik Skram

With the looming First World War as backdrop, Anton, a dutiful officer, is conflicted by his friendship with the Baron’s daughter, Edith, who is wheelchair-bound. As their relationship evolves, he searches his feelings unable to decide; is it pity or true love?

Roger Do Minh

FILMSCORE

ROSE

Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Music: Henrik Skram

Set over the course of one week, Rose is the story of two sisters, Inger and Ellen, and how their relationship is challenged on a highly anticipated coach trip to Paris. When Inger announces her struggles with mental health to the group, the sisters are faced with pity from some and downright discrimination from others. On arrival in Paris, it soon becomes clear that Inger has a hidden agenda concerning a figure from her past, ultimately involving the entire group in her hunt for answers. Rose is a film about love and care for each other, in spite of our differences, as much as it is a film about not judging a book by its cover.

NRK

MUSIC FOR TV SERIES

SNOWFALL

Directors: Synne Teksum, Ida Sagmo Tvedte
Music: Henrik Skram

A fantasy Christmas fairy tale about courage, friendship, and the search for belonging.

After she has lost her parents in an accident five years ago, Selma wishes for nothing more but a family she can belong to. The letter she writes to Santa Clause, turns into a paper bird which flies to Snowfall – a magical village full of wondrous people. On her journey through this enchanting Christmas fairy tale, Selma will figure out who she is and where she belongs – although it is far from what she would have ever expected.

For his score for Snøfall, Henrik Skram was nominated for the Harpa Film Composer Award 2018 and awarded the Gullrutten (Golden Screen) 2016 for Best Music.

Erik Berg

MUSIC FOR BALLET

THE HAMLET COMPLEX

Choreographer: Alan Lucien Øyen / Norwegian National Opera & Ballet
Composition: Henrik Skram

A dance theatre work by internationally acclaimed Norwegian choreographer Alan Lucien Øyen with music by Henrik Skram.

The Hamlet Complex is a major reworking of Shakespeare’s classic play for actors and dancers that explores the depth and range of our most essential and basic emotions. Our love. Our longing. Our desperation. Our search for meaningful affirmation of our existence.

World premiere: Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, Oslo 2018

"This is a production you have to see" (Aftenposten)

"It is absolutely crazy and more than a little imaginative" (Dagsavisen)