Artist in Residence programme
The Artist in Residence programme brings internationally renowned artists and performers to the Academy of Music and Drama as guest teachers. During the period 2024-2027, students at the Academy of Music and Drama will meet mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, composer and arranger Vince Mendoza and one other artist. The programme is funded by the Sten A Olsson Foundation for Research and Culture.
Artist in Residence 2024-2027
Vince Mendoza
For three decades, composer and arranger Vince Mendoza has been a leading figure in jazz and contemporary music as a composer, conductor, and studio musician for big bands, chamber ensembles, and symphony orchestras. His work has appeared on critically acclaimed recordings by artists such as Björk, Chaka Khan, Elvis Costello, Burt Bacharach, Al Jarreau, Diana Krall, Melody Gardot, Sting, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. He has won eight Grammy Awards out of 38 nominations.

Vince Mendoza is composer in residence of the WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany, and honorary conductor of the Dutch Metropole Orkest. He is also conductor in residence of the Vara Konserthus and the Bohuslän Big Band. He has appeared as guest conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic, as well as with various orchestras in Europe, the USA and Japan.
In addition to his position as Artist in Residence at the Academy of Music and Drama, Vince Mendoza is Professor of Jazz Composition at the USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles.
In November 2024, audiences could hear the results of the first project with Vince Mendoza as part of the Artist in Residence programme at the Academy of Music and Drama. Original music by Vince Mendoza and new works by students were performed in a joint project by the University 91̽ Symphony Orchestra and the Bohuslän Big Band, conducted by Vince Mendoza. The project, called New World/Old World and the concerts took place on 15 November at Gothenburg Concert Hall and on 16 November at Vara Concert Hall.
Anne Sofie von Otter
Anne Sofie von Otter is one of Sweden's most successful opera singers, with a distinguished and award-winning career spanning four decades. She has worked with legendary conductors such as Carlos Kleiber, Claudio Abbado and Giuseppe Sinopoli, and with artists such as Elvis Costello, Brad Mehldau and Rufus Wainwright. With an ever-changing repertoire, she has excelled in roles such as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss and Leonora in the world premiere of Thomas Adès' The Exterminating Angel, as well as Madame de Croissy (Dialogues des carmélites by Francis Poulenc) and Charlotte Andergast (öٲDzԲٱ by Sebastian Fagerlund).

Anne Sofie von Otter is one of today's most recorded artists, with a significant catalogue from her long association with Deutsche Grammophon. These include the Grammy-winning recording of Gustav Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Handel's Ariodante, Giulio Cesare and Hercules, and a collaboration with pop star Elvis Costello on the album For the Stars.