Instrumentation: 2*.2.2*.2 / 2.2.0.0 / perc / str
Katarina Leyman (b. 1963) is a Swedish composer originally from Orust in Bohuslän, now based in Stockholm. She studied composition and music theory pedagogy at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm (2000–2005), and holds a master’s degree in composition from the New England Conservatory (1995), as well as dual bachelor's degrees in composition and film scoring from Berklee College of Music (1993).
Inspired by nature’s movements, structures, and patterns—such as flowing water, volcanic activity, or schooling fish—Leyman’s music often blends color, motion, and form into vivid sonic landscapes. Her work spans orchestral, chamber, and solo compositions, and she frequently collaborates closely with performers and ensembles.
Her music has been performed widely across Europe, the U.S., South America, and Russia, at festivals such as the Baltic Sea Festival, ISCM World New Music Days, Nordic Music Days, Sound of Stockholm, and others. Orchestras including the Stockholm Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra, and Gävle Symphony Orchestra have performed her works in major venues such as Berwaldhallen, Elbphilharmonie, and Zagreb Concert Hall.
Leyman's Undulating Blue (2019), commissioned by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, was nominated for the Music Publishers' Award, as was her Clarinet Concerto: Verdure (2015). Her Concerto for Orchestra: An Odyssey, Roller Coaster: Super 8, and Transient Skies were composed during her tenure as composer-in-residence with the Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra (2012–2015). In 2014, her orchestral work King of Clouds won second prize at the Andrey Petrov Composition Competition in St. Petersburg.
Her breakthrough piece Solar Flares, commissioned by SR Berwaldhallen, premiered at the Baltic Sea Festival in 2010. Her 2019 portrait album Vattenklanger features a selection of her chamber works.