Örjan Sandred moved to Winnipeg from Stockholm, Sweden to join the music faculty at the University of Manitoba in 2005. Previous to his current position he was teaching composition and electro-acoustic music at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm 1998-2005.
After having studied Musicology at the University, Sandred moved to Stockholm to attend the composition program at the Royal College of Music in 1985. He graduated with a Master of Fine Arts (1990) and "Diplom i Komposition" (1997). During this period, he also went abroad and took private lessons in Copenhagen and London with Poul Ruders (from 1991 to 92). In 1994 - 95 he moved to Montreal and studied composition at McGill University (Master's program). At the end of his studies in Stockholm, he started using computers when composing, and it was a natural step for him to attended the annual course in composition and musical computing at IRCAM in Paris in 1997 - 98. Among his teachers are Sven-David Sandström, Magnus Lindberg, Pär Lindgren, Daniel Börtz, Bruce Mather, Bruce Pennycook (computer music) and Bill Brunson (electro-acoustic music).
Sandred has established himself as a composer of both instrumental and computer music. Among his compositions are Amanzule Voices for cello and live electronics (premiered at Espace de projection at IRCAM in Paris), Cracks and Corrosion I for piano quintet (commissioned by and premiered at Theatre du Chatelet in Paris), Cracks and Corrosion II for guitar and live electronics (commissioned by Svenska Rikskonserter and premiered at Nalen in Stockholm), Labyrinths in the Wind for Yamaha WX5 Wind Controller and symphony orchestra (commissioned by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and premiered at the WSO New Music Festival), Whirl of Leaves for flute and harp (commissioned by Svenska Rikskonserter and premiered at the UltraSchall Festival in Berlin) and Magma for symphony orchestra (composed for the Swedish Radio Orchestra and premiered at Berwaldhallen in Stockholm).
Sandred's music is performed in many countries around the world. Recent performances include the premiere of Whirl of Leaves (at the UltraSchall Festival 2009 in Berlin), Amanzule Voices (at Capitol in Stockholm 2009 and at the Shanghai International Electroacoustic Music Week 2009), Cracks and Corrosion II (at the Shanghai International Electroacoustic Music Week 2009 and at GroundSwell New Music series in Winnipeg 2010), Ice Fog (in Bangkok, Thailand and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2009). Two new compositions will be premiered during 2010: a new horn trio will be premiered at the Peninsula Arts Contemporary Music Festival in Plymouth, England and a new piece for recorder, trombone and cello is being composed for the Swedish ensemble Das Orchestra (commissioned by the Swedish Arts Grants Committee).
Sandred is a frequent guest lecturer around the world. He has given seminars at Harvard University, at Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Paris, at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, at the Bartok Seminar in Szombathely (Hungary), at Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, at McGill University in Montreal and other places.
Many of Sandred's pieces are results of his search for new methods of composition. During 1999 he worked as a Composer on Research in the Musical Representation Team at IRCAM. He has a particular interest in Rule-based Computer Assisted Composition techniques, and he has published several articles on the outcome of his ongoing research (for example in Computer Music Journal 2010 and Contemporary Music Review 2009). With the help of a grant from Canada Foundation for Innovation and Manitoba Research and Innovation Fund he has founded Studio FLAT at the University of Manitoba to support his research.
In 2009 Sandred released a CD featuring 5 of his compositions (Cracks and Corrosion on Navona Records, distributed by Naxos).
Sandred is a member of the international musical research group PRISMA (Pedagogia e Ricerca Internazionale sui Sistemi Musicali Assistiti). PRISMA is formed by composers and was created inside the Centro Tempo Reale in Florence, Italy.