Benjamin Staern (b. 1978) is one of the most prominent Scandinavian composers of his generation, whose works are regularly performed throughout Europe, North America, Russia, and Japan.

With a musical background in cello, piano, and percussion, Staern began his formal studies in musicology at Lund University, followed by composition studies at Malmö Academy of Music (1998–2005) with Rolf Martinsson, Hans Gefors, Per Mårtensson, Kent Olofsson, and Luca Francesconi.

His music is characterized by a highly individual and richly textured style, encompassing orchestral, chamber, solo, electroacoustic, and vocal music as well as opera. A central aspect of Staern’s artistic practice is his synesthesia—a neurological ability to perceive tones as colors—which is clearly reflected in works such as Yellow Skies, Colour Wandering, and Air–Spiral–Light, as well as in later works including Älvalek, Det Eviga, and Through Purgatory to Paradise.

Between 2010 and 2014, he was composer-in-residence with the New European Ensemble at the invitation of conductor Christian Karlsen. This collaboration resulted in several significant works, including Tranströmer Songs (based on poetry by Tomas Tranströmer) and Bells and Waves, which received the Swedish Music Publishers’ Prize for Chamber Music Work of the Year in 2011.

His multimedia work SAIYAH, created in collaboration with lighting and stage artist Yoko Seyama, was premiered at the MADE Festival at Norrlandsoperan in 2014. The year before, he was awarded the Christ Johnson Prize (Large Scale) by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music for his clarinet concerto Worried Souls.

In 2016, Staern was featured composer at the Båstad Chamber Music Festival and made his operatic debut with The Snow Queen (libretto by Anelia Kadieva Jonsson), a work that attracted considerable attention at Malmö Opera. His second opera, HILMA: An Opera About Hidden Art (libretto by Mira Bartov), portrays the artist Hilma af Klint and has been presented both at Moderna Museet in Stockholm and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

At a major composer portrait weekend at Stockholm Concert Hall, thirteen of his larger works were presented, including two world premieres.

He is currently Artist-in-Residence with Västerås Sinfonietta (2023–2026) and is active as a pedagogue, giving lectures at institutions such as Falun Music Conservatory, Gotland School of Composition, and the Båstad Chamber Music Festival.

For three seasons, he appeared as a contestant on the Swedish Television programme Kulturfrågan Kontrapunkt. According to OPUS Magazine, “Staern has shown that one can be both incisive and pedagogical—a composer who not only knows, but makes others want to know. It is precisely this combination—music, stage, and dialogue—that makes him a vital and important voice in Swedish musical life.”