Kruse is the son of Colonel Erling O. Kruse (born 1922, died 2016) and Eunice Cooklin (born 1925, died 2014), and spent his childhood in England and the USA. In 1974 he married Professor Gro Shetelig (born 1948) and they had three girls, singers and actors Benedikte (born 1979), Anine (born 1977) and Jannike Kruse (born 1975). Marriage dissolved 2008.[3] Married Karette Stensæth 2012. Kruse has a broad background as a musician, (clarinet and saxophone),[1] producer and music arranger.[3]
Ever since his student days he has given lectures at Norwegian Academy of Music, in jazz theory, arranging as the author of Bruksmusikkarrangering (1978)[4] but foremost in composition, and music and arts ethics.
Bjørn Kruse is a lecturer within his academic area,[2][5] often based on his book Den Tenkende Kunstner ("The Reflective Artist").[6][note 1]
In the dance project Memento Mori young and old are joined together in a theatrical tapestry of dance movement, text, voice, music and sound. Kruse and the choreographer Sølvi Edvardsen wanted in this piece to focus on all stages of life.[8][9]
A key work in Kruse's compositional career is the opera The Green Knight with libretto by Paal-Helge Haugen. It premiered in Kristiansand, Norway, on 10 March 2004.[1] Kruse's latest major work is Chronotope for clarinet and orchestra, premiered on 21 January 2016 with soloist Fredrik Fors, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Han-Na Chang.
1999: Works for Choir – Song For Winter (Aurora Records)
1999: Concentus – På evighetens tavler (Female choir)
2016: Portrait With Hidden Face (LabLabel), Eir Inderhaug with Ellen Margrete Flesjø, Ingfrid Breie Nyhus, Gjertrud Pedersen, Ellen Sejersted Bødtker, Eirik Raude, Marianne E. Andersen
2016: Phonetix, Lars Lien, Berit Solset, Anders Eidsten Dahl LAWO Classics LWC 109
2016: Havet, speilet i toner, Stavanger Vocalensemble Daniel Engen Productions
2017: Chronotope, Fredrik Fors, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Christian Eggen LAWO Classics LWC 1129
^The central theme of this book is about finding the common concepts within all arts, whether music, visual arts, performing arts or other, giving broader insights for the individual artist but also strengthening the "aesthetic competence" of the receiver.[1]
