FREDE EWERT

Born: 1954 or 1955

Nationality: Danish

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

Pianist Frede Ewert is a graduate of Copenhagen’s Music Conservatoire. As a studio musician, he worked with several of Denmark’s most popular artists, such as Hanne Boel. He was a member of a Joni Mitchell revival band which released two albums. Ewert wrote music for radio and television as well as film scores.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

In the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest, Frede Ewert was a keyboard player in the backing group of Kirsten & Søren, who represented Denmark in the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Det’ lige det'. 

Eleven years later, in 1995, Ewert was the musical director of the Danish Eurovision pre-selection, leading the DR Musik Event Pop Orkester. Subsequently, he also conducted the winning song of the Danish heats, ‘Fra Mols til Skagen’ by singer Aud Wilken, in the Eurovision Song Contest final in Dublin. The original song, with the banjo dominating the minimalist instrumentation, pleased the juries and finished fifth.

One year later, in 1996, Ewert again was the musical director of Denmark's Eurovision pre-selection, leading his band for all songs including the winning 'Kun med dig', which was performed by Dorthe Andersen and Martin Loft. Because this song did not qualify from the audio semi-final, however, Ewert never got to conduct it on the Eurovision stage in Oslo.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1984 Luxembourg

Country – Denmark

Song title – "Det’ lige det"

Rendition – Hot Eyes (Kirsten Siggaard & Søren Bundgaard with Lise Dandanell / Frede Ewert / Tina Schäfer / Hanne Boel)

Lyrics – Keld Heick

Composition – Søren Bundgaard

Studio arrangement – Søren Bundgaard 

Live orchestration – Henrik Krogsgaard

Conductor – Henrik Krogsgaard

Score – 4th place (101 votes)

1995 Dublin

Country – Denmark

Song title – "Fra Mols til Skagen"

Rendition – Aud Wilken

Lyrics – Lise Cabble

Composition – Lise Cabble / Mette Mathiesen

Studio arrangement – Lise Cabble / Ole Hansen / Ture Larsen / Mette Mathiesen

Live orchestration – Ture Larsen

Conductor – Frede Ewert

Score – 5th place (92 votes)

1996 Oslo

Song title – “Kun med dig”

Rendition – Dorthe Andersen & Martin Loft

Lyrics – Keld Heick

Composition – Jascha Richter

Studio arrangement (Michael Learns To Rock version) – Michael Learns To Rock (Jascha Richter / Mikkel Lentz / Kåre Wanscher / Søren Madsen)

Live orchestration – unknown (possibly Frede Ewert)

Conductor (Danish final) – Frede Ewert

Score audio semi-final – 25th place (22 votes) - eliminated

GEORGE THEOPHANOUS (ΓΙΩΡΓΟΣ ΘΕΟΦΑΝΟΥΣ)

Born: January 9th, 1968, Larnaca (Cyprus)

Nationality: Cypriot

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

George Theophanous (Γιώργος Θεοφάνους) studied the guitar, piano, and music theory at the National Conservatory in Agios Demetios, Cyprus; subsequently, he majored in arranging at the Berklee School of Music, Boston Mass. Since 1990, he has lived in Athens, Greece, where he rapidly established himself as one of the country’s most important composers and arrangers of pop material; Theophanous worked with the likes of Marinella, George Dalaras, Nana Mouskouri, and Sakis Rouvas. In 1999, he founded the boy band One, which was highly successful in both Greece and Cyprus. Moreover, he wrote music for theatrical performances and was a jury member in the Greek version of X Factor. In 2008, Theophanous published a novel, ‘Aionios Supper’.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 

In 1992, when he was twenty-four years of age, Theophanous composed ‘Teriazoume’, the song which represented Cyprus in that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. It was sung by Evridiki, who was his fiancée at that time, and Theophanous himself conducted the orchestra. Two years later, the same collaboration of Evridiki with Theophanous as her composer and conductor resulted in ‘Ime anthropos ke ego’. Both these Cypriot entries finished eleventh. In 1993 and 1995, Theophanous arranged and conducted the Cypriot entries ‘Mi stamatas’ and ‘Sti fotia’. In 2002, at the request of Cypriot broadcaster CyBC, he composed a song for the contest again, ‘Gimme’, which was performed by the group he had formed himself, One. This upbeat dance song – very dissimilar from the sensitive ballads Theophanous had written for Evridiki in the 1990s – came sixth.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1992 Malmö

Country – Cyprus

Song title – “Teriazoume”

Rendition – Evridiki Theoclous

Lyrics – George Theophanous / Leonidas Malenis

Composition – George Theophanous

Studio arrangement – George Theophanous

Live orchestration – George Theophanous

Conductor – George Theophanous

Score – 11th place (57 votes)

1993 Millstreet

Country – Cyprus

Song title – “Mi stamatas”

Rendition – Cyriacos Zymboulakis & Demos Van Beke

Lyrics – Radoulla Papalambrianou

Composition – Aristos Moschovakis

Studio arrangement – Aristos Moschovakis

Live orchestration – George Theophanous

Conductor – George Theophanous

Score – 19th place (17 votes)

1994 Dublin

Country – Cyprus

Song title – “Ime anthropos ke ego”

Rendition – Evridiki Theoclous

Lyrics – George Theophanous

Composition – George Theophanous

Studio arrangement – George Theophanous

Live orchestration – George Theophanous

Conductor – George Theophanous

Score – 11th place (51 votes)

1995 Dublin

Country – Cyprus

Song title – “Sti fotia”

Rendition – Alex Panayi

Lyrics – Alexandros Panayi

Composition – Alexandros Panayi

Studio arrangement – George Theophanous

Live orchestration – George Theophanous

Conductor – George Theophanous

Score – 9th place (79 votes)

2002 Tallinn  

Country – Cyprus

Song title – “Gimme”

Rendition – One (Constantinos Christophorou / Philippos Constantinos /

Dimitris Coutsavlakis / Argyris Nastopoulos / Panos Tserpes)

Lyrics – George Theophanous

Composition – George Theophanous

Studio arrangement – George Theophanous

Live orchestration – none

Conductor – none

Score – 6th place (85 votes)

MIKE DIXON

Born: January 1957, Plymouth, England (United Kingdom)

Nationality: British

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

Mike Dixon studied at the Trinity College of Music, graduating in 1979. Since, he has become a much sought-after composer, arranger, and musical director, working with the likes of Elton John, Tom Jones, Phil Collins, Anastacia, and Katie Melua. He was the musical director for Shirley Bassey in many concerts. Dixon worked on several West End productions as well as many TV shows, including the British Comedy Awards, The Queen’s Jubilee Rock Concert, The Brian Conley Show, and Pop Idol. In 2004, he won the Australian Entertainment Industry Helpmann Award for best musical direction.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Mike Dixon wrote the orchestration to UK entry ‘Love City Groove’ performed by the eponymous band in the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin. Originally, it was a rap song, but it was adapted to Eurovision standards – including the orchestral accompaniment. This entry was clearly a bridge too far for the juries and finished tenth.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1995 Dublin

Country – United Kingdom

Song title – "Love City Groove"

Rendition – Love City Groove 

Lyrics – Yinka Charles / Paul Hardy / Tatsiana Mais / 

  Stephen Rudden 'Beanz' / Jay Williams

Composition – Yinka Charles / Paul Hardy / Tatsiana Mais /

  Stephen Rudden / Jay Williams

Studio arrangement – Stephen Rudden 'Beanz' / George Stewart

Live orchestration – Mike Dixon

Conductor – Mike Dixon

Score – 11th place (76 votes)

WEBSITE

www.mikedixonmusic.com

ALEC MANSION

Born: January 26th, 1958, Bruges (Belgium)

Nationality: Belgian

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

Alec Mansion studied the piano as well as harmony and solfege at the Conservatoire Royal in Liège. From his days as a student onwards, he played in various rock groups and in the early 1980s, he tried to force a breakthrough as a singer. In 1987, Mansion and his two brothers Benoît and Hubert (together: Léopold Nord et Vous), had an unexpected chart success with ‘C’est l’amour’, which was a number-2 hit in France. Léopold Nord et Vous was disbanded in 1994 after having experienced more success with ‘On en a marre’ and ‘Des filles et du rock and roll’. Alec Mansion wrote music for radio and television, advertisement campaigns, and films. Between 2001 and 2009, he released three solo albums.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Alec Mansion co-composed the 1987 Luxembourg entry ‘Amour amour’ with Plastic Bertrand (Roger Jouret), who also sang it and finished 21st; Mansion conducted the orchestra for him. Eight years later, Mansion represented his fatherland Belgium as the arranger and conductor of ‘La voix est libre’, which was composed by Pierre Theunis and performed by Frédéric Etherlinck. 

Alec Mansion is one of the few Eurovision conductors who was involved in the competition after the EBU had decided the contest was better off without an orchestra (1998); in 2005, in collaboration with Frédéric Zeitoun, he composed the song ‘Le grand soir’, which, sung by Nuno Resende, represented Belgium in that year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev, Ukraine.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1987 Brussels

Country – Luxembourg

Song title – “Amour amour”

Rendition – Plastic Bertrand 

Lyrics – Roger Jouret / Alec Mansion

Composition – Roger Jouret / Alec Mansion

Studio arrangement – Alec Mansion

Live orchestration – Alec Mansion

Conductor – Alec Mansion

Score – 21st place (4 votes)

1995 Dublin

Country – Belgium

Song title – “La voix est libre”

Rendition – Frédéric Etherlinck 

Lyrics – Pierre Theunis

Composition – Pierre Theunis

Studio arrangement – Alec Mansion

Live orchestration – Alec Mansion

Conductor – Alec Mansion

Score – 20th place (8 votes)

2005 Kiev

Country – Belgium

Song title – “Le grand soir”

Rendition – Nuno Resende 

Lyrics – Alec Mansion / Frédéric Zeitoun

Composition – Alec Mansion / Frédéric Zeitoun

Studio arrangement – Alec Mansion

Live orchestration – none

Conductor – none

Score semi-final – 22nd place (29 votes) & DNQ

MICHEL BERNHOLC

Born: July 10th, 1941, Paris (France)

Died: June 5th, 2002, Montreuil (France)

Nationality: French

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

In the 1970s and 1980s, pianist Michel Bernholc worked as an arranger in the recording studio for artists such as Mort Shuman, Michel Delpech, Matioszek, Gérard Lenorman, and Yves Duteil. Hit records with an orchestration written by him include ‘This Melody’ by Julien Clerc and ‘En chantant’ by Michel Sardou. He composed the music to Patrice Leconte’s cult film Les bronzes (1978) and arranged the music of TV series such as Magny (1985) and Jean-Jacques Debout’s 1992 musical comedy Paul et Virginie.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Michel Bernholc participated in the Eurovision Song Contest as an arranger/conductor on four occasions and is responsible for some of the best orchestrations ever made in the contest, namely those of ‘Judy et cie.’, with which Pierre Rapsat represented Belgium in 1976 and ‘Femme dans ses rêves aussi’, performed by Roger Bens in 1985 for France. In 1983, Bernholc was part of the winning team behind Corinne Hermès victory for Luxembourg with ‘Si la vie est cadeau’. Bernholc’s last participation was in 1995, when he conducted the French entry ‘Il me donne rendez-vous’, performed by Nathalie Santamaria (4th place).

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1976 The Hague

Country – Belgium

Song title – "Judie et cie."

Rendition – Pierre Rapsat 

Lyrics – Eric Van Hulse

Composition – Pierre Rapsat

Studio arrangement – Jean-Pierre Orfino / Michel Bernholc

Live orchestration – Michel Bernholc

Conductor – Michel Bernholc

Score – 8th place (68 votes)

1983 Munich

Country – Luxembourg

Song title – "Si la vie est cadeau"

Rendition – Corinne Hermès 

Lyrics – Alain Garcia

Composition – Jean-Pierre Millers

Studio arrangement – Michel Bernholc

Live orchestration – Michel Bernholc

Conductor – Michel Bernholc

Score – 1st place (142 votes)

1985 Gothenburg

Country – France

Song title – "Femme dans ses rêves aussi"

Rendition – Roger Bens

Lyrics – Didier Pascalis

Composition – Didier Pascalis

Studio arrangement – Michel Bernholc

Live orchestration – Michel Bernholc

Conductor – Michel Bernholc

Score – 10th place (56 votes)

1995 Dublin

Country – France

Song title – "Il me donne rendez-vous"

Rendition – Nathalie Santamaria

Lyrics – Didier Barbelivien

Composition – François Bernheim

Studio arrangement – Michel Bernholc

Live orchestration – Michel Bernholc

Conductor – Michel Bernholc

Score – 4th place (94 votes)

MELIH KIBAR

Born: September 6th, 1951, Istanbul (Turkey)

Died: April 7th, 2005, Istanbul (Turkey)

Nationality: Turkish

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

 

Melih Kibar was a musical prodigy and enrolled in the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory. In 1970, he won first prize as a composer at a high school contest. He studied chemical engineering at the Bosphorus University in Istanbul and University College of Wales in Aberystwyth. Kibar devoted the rest of his life to music, however, composing nearly 300 songs, as well as nine musicals and over thirty film soundtracks. In 1976, he was awarded the Golden Orange for best soundtrack of the year for his work on the film Hababam sınıfı. In 1984, a song by Kibar represented Turkey at the Sopot Festival in Poland.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Melih Kibar composed and conducted two Turkish Eurovision entries: ‘Halley’, sung by Klips & Onlar in 1986 (for the orchestration of which he worked with Peter Schön from the Netherlands) and ‘Sev!’, performed by Arzu Ece in 1995. These songs finished ninth and sixteenth respectively. The 1986 placing was the best Turkish result in the contest until 1997.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1986 Bergen

Country – Turkey

Song title – "Halley"

Rendition – Klips & Onlar (Gür Akad / Sevingül Bahadir / Derya Bozkurt / Candal Erçetin / Emre Tukur)

Lyrics – Ilhan Irem

Composition – Melih Kibar

Studio arrangement – Melih Kibar / Peter Schön

Live orchestration – Melih Kibar / Peter Schön

Conductor – Melih Kibar

Score – 9th place (53 votes)

1995 Dublin

Country – Turkey

Song title – "Sev!"

Rendition – Arzu Ece

Lyrics – Zeynep Talu

Composition – Melih Kibar

Studio arrangement – Melih Kibar

Live orchestration – Melih Kibar

Conductor – Melih Kibar

Score – 16th place (21 votes)

WEBSITE

melki.com.tr

MICHAEL KIENZL

Born:  May 11th, 1951, Josefstadt, Vienna (Austria)

Nationality: Austrian

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

Michael Kienzl studied the French horn, guitar, and conducting in Vienna, Stuttgart, and New York. He wrote adaptations of American film scores for the European market. He founded MFK-Musik, later renamed the MFK Media Gruppe, in Bad Vöslau, Lower Austria. Nowadays, Kienzl also gives lectures for the Institute for Vital Empowerment (IVE) in Vienna.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

At the request of Austrian broadcaster ORF, Michael F. Kienzl wrote the string arrangement to Mischa W. Krausz’s composition ‘Die Welt dreht sich verkehrt’, which represented the Alpine republic in the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin. The song was performed by Stella Jones and Kienzl conducted the orchestra. This Austrian entry finished thirteenth.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1995 Dublin

Country – Austria

Song title – “Die Welt dreht sich verkehrt”

Rendition – Stella Jones

Lyrics – Mischa W. Krausz / S. Fied (Sigi Maron) / F. Beck (Fritz Nussböck)

Composition – Mischa W. Krausz

Studio arrangement – Mischa W. Krausz

Live orchestration – Michael F. Kienzl

Conductor – Michael F. Kienzl

Score – 13th place (67 votes)