Silvan Loher
Composer based in Oslo since 2017, whose large-scale choral and orchestral works have been performed across Europe and the United States, and broadcast internationally. en
Born
1986, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Studied
Hochschule für Musik und Theater Basel, with Georg Friedrich Haas and Jakob Ullmann (2006-2013)
Masterclasses with Beat Furrer, Helmut Lachenmann, Chaya Czernowin and Thomas Jennefelt
Based
Oslo, Norway (2017)
Position
Member, Norwegian Composers’ Association (Norsk Komponistforening)
Member, SONART – Musikschaffende Schweiz
Silvan Loher was born in Schaffhausen in 1986, where he received his first musical training. At the age of twelve, he began composing autodidactically.
In 2006, he started his composition studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Basel with Georg Friedrich Haas and Jakob Ullmann, and attended masterclasses with Beat Furrer, Helmut Lachenmann, Chaya Czernowin and Thomas Jennefelt. In 2013, he completed his studies with a Master of Arts diploma in Composition and Music Theory. That November, he was a finalist in the international composition competition “…a Camillo Togni” in Brescia, Italy, where he received the Jury’s Special Award. toch
Since graduating, he has received numerous commissions from ensembles in Switzerland and abroad, and his music has been performed across many European countries as well as in the United States, and broadcast on the radio. Since 2017, Loher has lived in Oslo, where he is a member of the Norwegian Composer’s Association and of SONART – Musikschaffende Schweiz. In Norway, he has received three work and creation grants, including a one-year work grant in 2022 from the Arts Council Norway (Kulturrådet). maar
Selected Works
Orchestral
GAIA 2026
Symphony for large orchestra, four symphonic movements on ecological loss and hope, incl. “Volvox” and “CCD – la mort des abeilles” – premiered by Sinfonisches Orchester Schweiz, cond. Annedore Neufeld; commissioned by Musik-Collegium Schaffhausen.
Choral
Messe für Muri 2016
Full-length, multi-choir mass – commissioned for Muri Abbey Church
Ensemble
Commission, Swiss Chamber Music Festival 2020
Adelboden
Work for Camerata Variabile 2017, 2020
Basel
Commission, Ars Braemia Festival 2019
Commission, Bachfest Schaffhausen 2018
Work for Il Continuo 2016
Cremona
Recordings
Night, Sleep, Death and the Stars 2017
With Silke Gäng – produced with Swiss Radio SRF and Odradek Records
Nocturne 2024
With Maria Cristina Kiehr – Solo Musica
Career & recognition
Master of Arts diploma, Composition and Music Theory, Hochschule für Musik und Theater Basel – 2013 terwijl
MILESTONE
Jury’s Special Award, “…a Camillo Togni” International Composition Competition, Brescia – 2013
PRIZE
Moves to Oslo; joins the Norwegian Composers’ Association and SONART – 2017
MILESTONE
One-year work grant, Arts Council Norway (Kulturrådet) – 2022
GRANT
GAIA premiered, Sinfonisches Orchester Schweiz, Schaffhausen – 2026
PREMIERE