46 Notable alumni of Royal Danish Academy of Music
Updated: May 28, 2026 EliteDegrees
Royal Danish Academy of Music is ranked #7,761 in the world and #20 in Denmark by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 46 notable alumni from Royal Danish Academy of Music sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Royal Danish Academy of Music won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Ludvig Birkedal-Barfod
1850-1937 (aged 87)
composer
Ludvig Birkedal-Barfod was a Danish composer and organist.
2. Knud Arne Jürgensen
1952-. (aged 74)
historian
musicologist
music historian
dramaturge
Knud Arne Jürgensen is a Danish music-, opera-, ballet- and theater historian, dramaturg, curator of exhibitions, senior researcher, critic, dr. phil.
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3. Thomas Jensen
1898-1963 (aged 65)
conductor
cellist
Thomas Jensen was a Danish orchestra conductor.
4. Carl Faia
1962-. (aged 64)
composer
Carl Faia is an American composer and live electronics designer and performer.
5. Axel Liebmann
1849-1876 (aged 27)
composer
Axel Liebmann was a Danish composer. With Victor Bendix, he founded the choral group Korforeningen in 1872 and conducted it from its founding to his death 1876.
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6. Kasper Bai
1974-. (aged 52)
composer
Kasper Bai is a Danish songwriter, composer, arranger and guitarist. He was born in Hjørring, studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, and now lives and works in Copenhagen. He is known for his Jazz/Classical crossover orchestral pieces and his modern use of the Danish "Vise" form. His ensembles include the Kasper Bai Orchestet, the Kasper Bai Kvartet...
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7. Asunción Claro
1944-. (aged 82)
musician
Sofia Asunción Claro is a Chilean-born classical harpist with a special interest in contemporary music. Since 1974, she has divided her time between Copenhagen, Denmark and Santiago, Chile.
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8. Lars Graugaard
1957-. (aged 69)
university teacher
flautist
composer
Lars Graugaard is a Danish composer of contemporary classical music and a laptop performer of improvised music and experimental techno music.
9. Rudolph Sophus Bergh
1859-1924 (aged 65)
music educator
botanist
composer
university teacher
musicologist
Rudolph Sophus Bergh was a Danish composer and zoologist. He was the son of physician and zoologist Rudolph Bergh. He received his general education at the Metropolitanskolen and then studied music at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and zoology at the University of Copenhagen. He later taught histology and embryology at the university and published two books in his...
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10. Tekla Griebel-Wandall
1866-1940 (aged 74)
music educator
composer
Tekla Griebel-Wandall was a Danish composer and music educator.
11. Stephanie Wurmbrand-Stuppach
1849-1919 (aged 70)
pianist
writer
composer
Countess Stephanie von Wurmbrand-Stuppach was a Hungarian pianist and composer. She was also known as Stephanie Brand-Vrabely.
12. Ólavur Jakobsen
1964-. (aged 62)
composer
classical guitarist
Ólavur Jakobsen, is a classical guitarist. He was born in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, and studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen with Ingolf Olsen, where he received his masters diploma in 1995. Further studies in Paris with French guitarist Roland Dyens. Has participated in masterclasses with e.g. Sir Julian Bream and David Russell.
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13. Elisabeth Westenholz
1942-. (aged 84)
pianist
Elisabeth Westenholz is a Danish pianist and organist. She has been called one of Denmark’s premier performers by the Kristeligt Dagblad.
14. Wayne Siegel
1953-. (aged 73)
composer
professor
Wayne Siegel is an American composer living in Malling, Denmark.
15. Agnes Adler
1865-1935 (aged 70)
pianist
music educator
musician
Agnes Charlotte Dagmar Adler, born Hansen (19 February 1865 in Copenhagen – 11 October 1935 at the same place was a Danish pianist. She is buried at Gentofte Kirkegård.
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16. Carl Busch
1862-1943 (aged 81)
composer
conductor
Carl Busch was a Danish-born American composer and music teacher sometimes associated with the Indianist movement. He was an important figure in the musical life of Kansas City, Missouri, for many years.
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17. Bjarke Mogensen
1985-. (aged 41)
musician
Bjarke Pauli Mogensen is a Danish accordionist. He began learning the accordion at age 7.
18. Katrine Gislinge
1969-. (aged 57)
pianist
Katrine Gislinge is a Danish pianist.
19. Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen
1932-2016 (aged 84)
composer
Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen was a Danish composer.
20. Victor Bendix
1851-1926 (aged 75)
pianist
conductor
composer
Victor Emanuel Bendix was a Danish composer, conductor and pianist, who came from a Jewish family. His teachers included Niels Gade.
21. Tróndur Bogason
1976-. (aged 50)
composer
Tróndur Bogason is a Faroese composer and musician. He composes classical works, but he also arranges music for pop, rock and folk artists. He is married to the Faroese singer Eivør Pálsdóttir with whom he also works; they arranged her album Room together. Bogason was educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. He has been nominated three times for...
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22. Ludolf Nielsen
1876-1939 (aged 63)
composer
conductor
Karl Henrik Ludolf Nielsen was a Danish composer, violinist, conductor, and pianist. Today he is considered one of the most important Danish composers of the early 1900s (together with the more famous Carl Nielsen).
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23. Andrea Pellegrini
1975-. (aged 51)
opera singer
Andrea Pellegrini is a Danish mezzo-soprano. She is the daughter of jazz musician Rolando Pellegrini (Rolly) and lab technician Annelise Pellegrini (née Dahlgaard).
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24. Sunleif Rasmussen
1961-. (aged 65)
composer
Sunleif Rasmussen is one of the foremost Faroese composers of classical music.
25. Michael Bojesen
1960-. (aged 66)
docent
composer
cultural agent
theatre manager
conductor
Michael Bojesen is a Danish conductor, composer, choirmaster and arranger. He is former director of Malmö Opera where he served from 2017 to 2022. He won the Danish annual prize for choral composition in 1998.
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26. Katrine Madsen
1972-. (aged 54)
composer
jazz musician
teacher
singer
Katrine Madsen is a Danish jazz singer.
27. Axel Gade
1860-1921 (aged 61)
violinist
composer
Axel Gade was a Danish violinist, composer, and conductor. He was the son of Niels Wilhelm Gade.
28. Michaela Fukačová
1959-. (aged 67)
musician
Michaela Fukačová is a Czech cellist. She took up the cello aged 14, and won the Beethoven Cello Competition two years later. She is a past winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. She studied at the Brno Conservatory, the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (HAMU) under Saša Večtomov, the Royal Danish Academy of Music...
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29. Jurij Moskvitin
1938-2005 (aged 67)
composer
pianist
philosopher
writer
Jurij Moskvitin was a Danish classical pianist, composer, philosopher, mathematician and boheme.
30. Marilyn Mazur
1955-2025 (aged 70)
composer
percussionist
jazz musician
singer
Marilyn Mazur was an American-born Danish percussionist. From 1975, she worked as a percussionist with various groups, among them Six Winds with Alex Riel. Mazur was primarily an autodidact, but she had a degree in percussion from the Royal Danish Academy of Music.
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31. Göran Söllscher
1955-. (aged 71)
university teacher
classical guitarist
musician
Göran Söllscher is a Swedish award-winning virtuoso classical guitarist known for his broad range of musical interpretations, ranging from Bach to the Beatles. Söllscher's international career began during his years of education at the Royal Conservatory of Copenhagen in Copenhagen, Denmark when at the age of 23, he won the Concours International de Guitare in Paris, 1978. He was signed...
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32. Vagn Holmboe
1909-1996 (aged 87)
classical composer
composer
Vagn Gylding Holmboe was a Danish composer and teacher.
33. Bo Skovhus
1962-. (aged 64)
opera singer
Bo Skovhus is a Danish opera singer (baritone).
34. Thomas Søndergård
1969-. (aged 57)
music educator
conductor
Thomas Søndergård is a Danish conductor and percussionist.
35. Niels Viggo Bentzon
1919-2000 (aged 81)
screenwriter
film director
pianist
composer
choreographer
Niels Viggo Bentzon was a Danish composer and pianist.
36. Frans Bak
1958-. (aged 68)
film score composer
saxophonist
composer
jazz musician
pianist
Frans Bak is a Danish composer, choral conductor, saxophonist, and pianist. He is a graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Music and has worked as a jazz performer and composer of film music. In 1994, he founded the composer's association Den 3. Vej. He plays saxophone, keyboards, and piano.
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37. Bent Sørensen
1958-. (aged 68)
music educator
composer
Bent Sørensen is a Danish composer. He won the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition in 2018 for L'isola della Città (2016).
38. Carl Nielsen
1865-1931 (aged 66)
autobiographer
choreographer
composer
pianist
conductor
Carl August Nielsen was a Danish composer, conductor, and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer.
39. Czesław Śpiewa
1979-. (aged 47)
composer
singer-songwriter
singer
lyricist
Czesław Stefan Mozil, also known under the alias Czesław Śpiewa (lit. 'Czesław Sings'), is a Polish-Danish singer and musician (mostly using the accordion), and graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Music.
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40. Hanne Boel
1957-. (aged 69)
singer
music professor
voice actor
recording artist
music educator
Hanne Boel is a Danish singer.
41. Poul Ruders
1949-. (aged 77)
composer
Poul Ruders is a Danish composer.
42. Arve Tellefsen
1936-. (aged 90)
classical violinist
recording artist
Arve Tellefsen is a Norwegian violinist who has worked with conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Arvid Jansons, Herbert Blomstedt, Gary Bertini, Evgeny Svetlanov, Bryden Thomson, Neeme Järvi, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Paavo Berglund, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Walter Weller and Zubin Mehta. In the UK, he has appeared with the Royal Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, The Hallé, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC Welsh Orchestra,...
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43. James Price
1959-. (aged 67)
composer
chapelmaster
television celebrity chef
restaurateur
James Price is a Danish composer and conductor, as well as a celebrity TV chef, known especially for appearing along with his brother Adam Price on the Danish cooking show Spise med Price (Eating with the Prices). In terms of musical work, he is best known for having served as the conductor on the Danish revue, Cirkusrevyen from 1984 to...
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44. Nikolaj Koppel
1969-. (aged 57)
conductor
pianist
journalist
musician
radio personality
Nikolaj Koppel is a Danish musician, journalist and radio presenter.
45. Hans Abrahamsen
1952-. (aged 74)
music educator
music teacher
composer
Hans Abrahamsen is a Danish composer born in Kongens Lyngby near Copenhagen. His Let me tell you (2013), a song cycle for soprano and orchestra, was ranked by music critics at The Guardian as the finest work of the 21st-century. His opera The Snow Queen was commissioned and premiered by the Royal Danish Theatre in 2019.
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46. Victor Borge
1909-2000 (aged 91)
conductor
pianist
stand-up comedian
composer
actor
Børge Rosenbaum, known professionally as Victor Borge, was a Danish-American actor, comedian, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in both North America and Europe. His blend of music and comedy earned him the nicknames "The Clown Prince of Denmark," "The Unmelancholy Dane," and "The Great Dane."
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