ArtistDirect News
Denmarks New Olesen Music Award Names Cellist Jonathan Swensen as First Recipient
On September 9 2026, the Erik & Susanna Olesen Charitable Foundation unveiled its first Olesen Music Award, a biennial prize that seeks to recognize young classical musicians whose artistry and international outlook promise to shape the future of the genre.
The inaugural honoree, cellist Jonathan Swensen, will receive a cash prize of DKK 500,000 (roughly US$78,000) and a networking package that will connect him with concert halls and orchestras throughout the Nordic region. The support is designed to broaden his reputation and open new performance opportunities.
Swensen’s résumé already reads like a tour of the world’s leading orchestras. He has performed as a soloist with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, the New England Conservatory Philharmonia, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, the NFM Leopoldinum in a play‑direct program, Mobile Symphony, and the Greenville Symphony. His debut album, Fantasia, released in 2022 on Champs Hill Records, showcases solo cello works by Kodály, Khachaturian, Ligeti, and Dutilleux, and features Bent Sørensen’s Farewell Fantasia, a piece written for Swensen and premiered in 2021.
Educationally, Swensen graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Music before continuing his studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo with Torleif Thedéen and at the New England Conservatory under Laurence Lesser, where he earned an Artist Diploma in May 2023.
When accepting the award, Swensen said, “For me, receiving the Olesen Music Award is an enormous vote of confidence. It feels as though there are people who genuinely believe in me and want to help me. Music has the power to develop us as human beings, and the opportunity to reach more people through the Olesen Music Award is fantastic – and something I am incredibly grateful for.”
Stine Hasbirk, chair of the Olesen Music Award and violist with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, added, “Jonathan Swensen has a remarkable ability to make the music his own. He possesses extraordinary technical freedom, but technique is never the point – the music and its story always come first. He plays with an energy, intensity and immediacy that can create those rare moments when an audience loses all sense of time and place.”
The Olesen Music Award is intended to support early‑career musicians who can influence the trajectory of classical music. By combining a substantial cash prize with strategic networking, the foundation aims to accelerate recipients’ careers and expand the reach of contemporary classical performance across the Nordic region.
Swensen’s receipt of the award follows a rapid ascent in the classical music world, highlighted by his joint first‑prize win at the 2024 Naumburg International Cello Competition and the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant. The European dimension added by the Olesen award positions him for further engagements with leading Nordic orchestras and concert venues.
Because the award is biennial, Swensen will be the sole recipient for the next two years, after which a new cohort of young musicians will be selected. The foundation’s focus on artistic vision and international potential aligns with the broader trend of supporting artists who bridge traditional repertoire with contemporary expression.
As of September 2026, the Olesen Music Award has officially entered the landscape of classical music prizes, and Jonathan Swensen’s recognition marks a significant milestone for both the award and his burgeoning career.
The inaugural honoree, cellist Jonathan Swensen, will receive a cash prize of DKK 500,000 (roughly US$78,000) and a networking package that will connect him with concert halls and orchestras throughout the Nordic region. The support is designed to broaden his reputation and open new performance opportunities.
Swensen’s résumé already reads like a tour of the world’s leading orchestras. He has performed as a soloist with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, the New England Conservatory Philharmonia, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, the NFM Leopoldinum in a play‑direct program, Mobile Symphony, and the Greenville Symphony. His debut album, Fantasia, released in 2022 on Champs Hill Records, showcases solo cello works by Kodály, Khachaturian, Ligeti, and Dutilleux, and features Bent Sørensen’s Farewell Fantasia, a piece written for Swensen and premiered in 2021.
Educationally, Swensen graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Music before continuing his studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo with Torleif Thedéen and at the New England Conservatory under Laurence Lesser, where he earned an Artist Diploma in May 2023.
When accepting the award, Swensen said, “For me, receiving the Olesen Music Award is an enormous vote of confidence. It feels as though there are people who genuinely believe in me and want to help me. Music has the power to develop us as human beings, and the opportunity to reach more people through the Olesen Music Award is fantastic – and something I am incredibly grateful for.”
Stine Hasbirk, chair of the Olesen Music Award and violist with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, added, “Jonathan Swensen has a remarkable ability to make the music his own. He possesses extraordinary technical freedom, but technique is never the point – the music and its story always come first. He plays with an energy, intensity and immediacy that can create those rare moments when an audience loses all sense of time and place.”
The Olesen Music Award is intended to support early‑career musicians who can influence the trajectory of classical music. By combining a substantial cash prize with strategic networking, the foundation aims to accelerate recipients’ careers and expand the reach of contemporary classical performance across the Nordic region.
Swensen’s receipt of the award follows a rapid ascent in the classical music world, highlighted by his joint first‑prize win at the 2024 Naumburg International Cello Competition and the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant. The European dimension added by the Olesen award positions him for further engagements with leading Nordic orchestras and concert venues.
Because the award is biennial, Swensen will be the sole recipient for the next two years, after which a new cohort of young musicians will be selected. The foundation’s focus on artistic vision and international potential aligns with the broader trend of supporting artists who bridge traditional repertoire with contemporary expression.
As of September 2026, the Olesen Music Award has officially entered the landscape of classical music prizes, and Jonathan Swensen’s recognition marks a significant milestone for both the award and his burgeoning career.