Fritz Gerhard Berthelsen

Fritz Gerhard Berthelsen (FB), *1963 in Copenhagen
Traveled as a young to the Faroe Islands to teach clarinet. This became the take off for nine years of intensive conservatory studies and following a long carrier as performer on Clarinet and Bass clarinet. The study period was first in the magnificent westpart of Norway and later on – with also one year in The Norwegian Academy in Oslo – FB continued in Switzerland in Central Europe.

In Norway with solo clarinetist Haakon Vestly, FB learned – on top of the compulsory technical portfolios – exiting important tools for telling stories with the instrument. Later in the recognized Conservatoire de Music de Genevé, with clarinet soloist Thomas Friedli, the focus was on detailed aesthetic. This in context to epoch, place and especially in relation to other art-expressions and -waves. In this period FB developed high technical skills and in 1992 it finally ended with receiving a 1. Prix Virtuosité. The final years of study, with solo clarinetist and author Art Rozeboom, were important in a philosophical context and also about being technically accomplished in order to be able to carry out the refined tasks in details with appropriate results.

A meeting with composer Ejnar Kanding (Denmark) in 1996 became an artistic turning point. In this cooperation FB in 1997 has established Ensemble Contemporánea, Live Electronics Denmark. Here FB has shaped his career in a different way braking new ground. With Ejnar Kanding FB began to innovate, develop and play performances, which has its off-spring in complex classical score music and interactive electronic sound design. Often developing it further in a visual framework and continuously experimenting with the development process, the concert form and the context. Very important is the access these results finally brought: It attracted brand new public fields for contemporary music. 

So far this resulted in 76 solo and ensemble first performances in the National Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), six CD releases and establishing of several international major culture exchange projects. FB has with this conception been playing solo concerts in Scandinavia, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, China, USA and seven South American Countries on festivals like, the ICMC in Beijing (China), the ISCM in Hong Kong, Interactive Arts Performance Series, New York City (USA), International Computer Music Conference, Havana (Cuba), Bridges festival, Krakow (Poland) and Festival Synthèse in Bourges (France).