Jan Järvlepp

Composer and cellist Jan Järvlepp writes music in a style he describes as European/American fusion. Influenced by his own background in rock music, he has also drawn on Hispanic, flamenco, Arab, and Nordic folk styles, often creating works with unique combinations of instruments. As a teen, Järvlepp was a rock and soul music enthusiast, attending concerts by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and The Beach Boys. Järvlepp scored breakthroughs when the Ottawa Symphony performed his Camerata Music in 1993 and his Garbage Concerto in 1996. The latter work was widely performed and was recorded by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and conductor Lan Shui in 2000. A later work that brought Järvlepp success was In Memoriam for string orchestra or string quintet. Järvlepp retired from the Ottawa Symphony in 2019 and has since devoted full-time to composition. As of 2024, more than 20 of his works had been recorded.