ECWO 2016

Cerebral Vortex by Øyvind Moe.

This composition was written by Øyvind Moe. He composed this for Musikkforeningen Nidarholm for their participation in the World Music Contest in Kerkrade (2009, NL). The composition is published by Norsk Noteservice.

The title refers to a form of writer’s block caused not by lack of ideas, but rather by the inability to channel and give form to the madness swirling inside the head of someone with a great desire to express something. In this respect, the piece can be said to be a composer’s exercise in keeping focus. A limited amount of material is repeated and treated creating a development that always has a solid anchor point. This is emphasized by the return to the opening theme towards the end.

Moe’s musical background lies in the bands of his home town of Bergen, Norway. He studied composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music, where his teachers included Bjørn Kruse, Henrik Hellstenius, Lasse Thoresen, Asbjørn Schaathun, and Olav Anton Thommesen. He also studied musicology and music technology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), as well as software development at the Bergen University College. As a performer, he has many years of experience playing the saxophone in several of Norway’s leading amateur wind orchestras. Moe was present at the ECWO contest 2016.