Sven Helbig is a German composer, director and music producer.
Biography
Sven Helbig is a composer for orchestra- and choir music. Beside this, he is active in the field of electronic music, mostly combining it with classical instruments. Sven Helbig's first experience with music began with the clarinet, but he later added the guitar, piano and drums. He studied music in Dresden and taught drums at the Carl-Maria von Weber Musical Academy in Dresden from 1995 to 2008. In 2013 the renowned label Deutsche Grammophon released his compositions for orchestra and piano quartet Pocket Symphonies. In 1996, Sven Helbig and hornist Markus Rindt founded the Dresden Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra is specialized in new, symphonic music in unusual productions and was the first European symphony orchestra to exclusively perform contemporary music. Helbig gave up his managing position in 2007 to focus on his own musical work, resulting in orchestral pieces, film music and electronic music compositions. Since 2016, Sven Helbig is playing live with his Forrklang Quartet. The ensemble is individually formed to fit the need of his current concert program. In 2017 he toured Europe with his choir work I Eat the Sun and Drink the Rain. The production for choir, electronics and visuals has been staged at Milton Court Hall/London, Elbphilharmonie/Hamburg and Reina Sofia Hall/Madrid beside others. In recent years, the artist has delved into work as a director. He directed music videos, stage shows and theatrical multimedia events. For example, he produced the High-rise Symphony on Dresden's 800th anniversary during which the orchestra's musicians sat on individual balconies of an old East German apartment building. Helbig's versatility made him a much sought-after producer for crossover projects. Sven Helbig has worked as a producer, composer and arranger with Rammstein, Pet Shop Boys, Snoop Dogg, Polarkreis 18, the Fauré Quartett, opera singer René Pape, pianist Olga Scheps and more. The composer's work builds on the tradition of the Gesamtkunstwerk. Often he takes responsibility for content, music and production at the same time.
2009: Music video “The Color Of Snow” - Polarkreis 18
2009: Music video “Happy Go Lucky” - Polarkreis 18
2011: Premier performance of the ballet The Most Incredible Thing in London at Sadler's Wells Theatre, music by Pet Shop Boys with orchestrations by Sven Helbig
2014: A Man from the Future, work for orchestra, choir, speaker and electronics about the life of Alan Turing by Pet Shop Boys, premiered by BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall,