Meet Jens Ibsen | Opera Singer and Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jens Ibsen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jens, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I was born in Accra, Ghana to a Ghanaian mother and an American father, and moved to the Bay Area when I was not quite a year old. I grew up in a musically diverse household, with my mother playing everything from Earth, Wind and Fire, to Angelique Kidjo, while my father, an amateur at West African drumming, exposed us to Samba, Candomble, Western classical music, and everything in between. My earliest exposure to music was as diverse as it gets, and this has always impacted my approach to composing. I know many composers with eclectic tastes in what they listen to, but their work doesn’t reflect the music they listen to recreationally. Personally, I yearn to express myself fully, and have always brought the music I listen to, whatever I am passionate about at the moment, into my work. I simply want to champion the music that makes my life meaningful! In years past, this was Arab and Turkish music, and more recently my primary musical influence is Progressive Metal – a metal sub-genre characterized by complicated rhythms, unusual instrumentation, and unconventional song forms. This music holds endless allure to me, as it disproves an assumption which I’ve seen many musical colleagues make over the years: that popular music is incompatible with musical complexity, that audiences cannot “handle it.” Judging by the mosh pits I’ve been to, they seem to handle it unabashedly.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I always have felt like something of an outsider to classical music. Despite having been involved in it at an early age, I knew that kids who looked like me, who came from where I come from don’t take up space in this medium. As I’ve gotten older, it has become increasingly important to me to take that space, and disrupt the definition of what a classical musician can be. I have dealt with many struggles relating to my background; my father has always repeated the old adage many Black folk know to be true, which is that we work twice as hard for half the credit. What saw me through those challenges was having a defined identity, and being unwilling to compromise on my artistic ideals. I think being a musician – especially a composer, given the nature of the profession – simply means having something to say. And my brand is all about being unapologetic, about being big and crazy and edgy and ridiculous because these are the things that make up who I am, and the things for which we are often (especially as Black folk) suppressed by society. I want my work to be liberating, and to help other people be more themselves.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love San Francisco and I am very proud to have come from the Bay Area, more and more with time. For one, I am a huge fan of the food culture here. I’d love to take someone to San Tung in the Sunset District for their absolutely bonkers fried chicken, or House of Nanking in Chinatown. We could grab some booze at the Russian grocery store and sit out by Ocean Beach for an evening, and work off the hangover the next day by hiking San Pedro County Park in Pacifica, or walking around the Presidio. For a more spiritual experience, one of my favorite sacred spaces is the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, which holds an incredible music festival called the Garden of Memory every summer (though of course, present circumstances excepted). You walk all around this crematorium, flooded with light, while various musical acts play throughout the space. It is nothing short of sublime. For other musical experiences, the Classical Revolution nights at Cafe Revolution in the Mission are a blast – who knew seeing a string quartet at a down-home, quirky bar and cafe would be such an incredible vibe? And to top it off, obviously visits to the SF Opera and Symphony are a must.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to Randall Woolf, who’s been my private composition teacher for the last two years and who has been instrumental in my maturation as an artist. Randy is a phenomenal musician, pedagogue, mentor and friend and I hope to someday be half as good an influence on young composers as he has been for me.

Website: jensibsen.com

Instagram: jens.ibsen

Youtube: Jens Ibsen

Image Credits
Mike Grittani Mark Estefanos