Born in Skui (Norway, 1978), Ola Gjeilo is one of the most performed composers in the choral world. Although he is Norwegian by birth, it is the United States, the composer's adopted country, that have most influenced the world of Gjeilo's signature sound, which has developed a style that is often described as cinematic and evocative, with a lush and harmonious sound.

Gjeilo grew up in a musically eclectic household, where everything from Abba to Brahms' Requiem was heard. His classical references include Händel, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms and, especially, Rakhmàninov. But at the same time he is also inspired by the art of improvisation of film composer Thomas Newman and jazz legends Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny. For the Palace's guest composer, Keith Jarrett is the best jazz pianist of all time. At the same time, he is also inspired by the art of Dale Chihuly, a sculptor known for his blown glass works, and the architect Frank Gehry.

Ola Gjeilo began his musical training in Norway and thanks to a Yamaha SY77 synthesizer he began to investigate and play with music, discovering harmonies and sounds that he later developed in his musical work. A music that preserves part of the Scandinavian taste indebted to spectralism, but passed through the sieve of the North American sound imaginary strongly influenced by film music. He first landed in the United States to study at the Juilliard School in New York. He later moved to Los Angeles to study film music and currently resides in New York again. Gjeilo does not remember wanting anything more to happen than he was not a composer. He explains that, since he was a child, he felt that this was his milestone, and it was not a choice; he was simply a composer.

He greatly enjoys the process of recording albums and is an exclusive artist for Decca Classics, a label for which he has recorded numerous volumes of both choral and piano music. He usually offers piano concerts as an improviser and accompanies choral music concerts with his music, on which he, from the piano, improvises live at the concert. With this double facet we will discover it at the Palau de la Música Catalana.