Ylva Fred (born in 1990) is a Swedish composer educated at Gotland School of Composition and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm where she received her masters degree in 2020.
Recurring elements in her music are symbolism, humour and the some-what-familiar, with an expression moving between the ordinary and the surreal. Influenced by jazz, pop and church music, Fred’s music is characterised by contrasting materials often with rhythmic sections and metric modulations, sometimes bordering a polystylism rooted in personal references. An important component in the composition process is the close collaboration with musicians or other artists, where other than concert hall music, Fred has earlier created music for film, dance and fashion. In the last years, she has been given the opportunity to compose works in larger settings, establishing her as a composer of orchestral and musical drama works.