Sven Helbig
Sven Helbig (born in 1968) is a German composer, director and music producer. Helbig is mainly a composer for orchestral and choral music. Beside this, he is active in the field of electronic music (dark ambient, noise, field recordings), mostly employing classical instruments. Helbig's versatility has made him a much sought-after producer for crossover projects; he has worked as a producer, composer and arranger with Rammstein, Pet Shop Boys, Snoop Dogg, Polarkreis 18, the Fauré Quartet, opera singer René Pape, pianist Olga Scheps and more. Helbig's work builds on the tradition of the Gesamtkunstwerk (all -embracing art form) and he often takes responsibility for content, music and production at the same time. Biography. Helbig was born in 1968 and grew up in Eisenhüttenstadt, East Germany. His 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 1996, 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. In 2013 the label Deutsche Grammophon released his compositions for orchestra and piano quartet titled "Pocket Symphonies". Since 2016, 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.