About the artist

Biography

Poul Høxbro is an internationally acclaimed Danish flautist, percussionist and musical pioneer. Renowned for his profound artistry and wide-ranging exploration of music across centuries. He is a leading specialist on medieval pipe-and-tabor and other early/traditional wind instruments like the Chinese xun, low whistles, and traditional Scandinavian instruments like willow flute, cow- and goat horn. His work is marked by meticulous research, refined musicianship, and a rare ability to communicate early music with immediacy and depth to modern audiences.

Beyond historical performance, Poul Høxbro is widely recognized for his openness to experimentation and artistic dialogue. He collaborates closely with contemporary composers, commissioning and premiering new works that challenge and expand the expressive boundaries of early wind instruments. Composing/improvisation, cross-genre projects, and innovative concert formats play a central role in his artistic practice, creating a bridge between early music traditions and contemporary musical thinking.

Selected career highlights

Highlights from Poul Høxbro’s artistic career, presented in no particular order.

  • Collaboration with sound artist Thomas Li on four original works for the Chinese flute, xun, and modular synthesizers.
  • Selected among a total of eight flautists from around the world for the Magic Flute Project at Germany’s largest folk music festival in Rudolstadt.
  • Collaboration with Welsh/Danish harpist Helen Davies on the rediscovery of music from Johan von Bülow’s Collection (early 1800s) and new interpretations for low whistle and Celtic harp. Their programs also combine classical English medieval music and old traditional Celtic tunes.
  • Musical consultant and recording artist on Viking flutes and horns for Robert Eggers’ film The Northman (Universal Pictures, 2022).
  • Many years of in-depth pioneering work on the medieval tradition of one-handed flute and drum, leading to guest performances and collaborations around the world.
  • Awarded the Danish National Symphony Orchestra’s honorary prize, Emil Holm’s Grant, for his work as an “ambassador of medieval music.”
  • Collaboration with Danish author Suzanne Brøgger and musicians Butch Lacey, Marilyn Mazur, and Hans Ulrik on a recording of the Persian Inanna poems in Brøgger’s reinterpretation.
  • Explored Swedish and Norwegian sæter (herding) music, interpreted on traditional instruments such as cow and goat horns and the willow flute.
  • Collaboration with singer and harpist Miriam Andersén on the sounds and music of the Vikings.
  • Collaboration with Danish trumpeter and composer Palle Mikkelborg on Am I Awake or Am I Dreaming, performed in connection with Jürgen Habermas’s receipt of the Holberg Prize at Haakon’s Hall in Bergen.
  • Collaboration with jazz pianist and composer Carsten Dahl, cellist Toke Møldrup, and Trinitatis Church parish priest Anne Edmond on contemplative services in major Danish churches.
  • Soloist at the Royal Danish Opera in composer Bo Holten’s opera The Visit of the Royal Physician.
  • Solo role in Stephen Henriksen’s music for the large-scale musical Leonora with the Odense Symphony Orchestra.
  • Collaboration with the experimental classical ensemble Manchester Collective.
  • Artistic leader of several projects with the Danish baroque orchestra Concerto Copenhagen.
  • Toured Australia several times with recorder player Genevieve Lacey, including performances in the Utzon Room at the Sydney Opera House.
  • Initiator and soloist in Bo Holten’s The Prophecy of the Völva (Suzanne Brøgger’s reinterpretation) for vocal ensemble, harp, and Viking instruments.
  • During the coronavirus period, researched the Chinese clay flute, xun, becoming one of the first to introduce it into Western classical music.
  • Collaboration with organist and composer Jette Mogensen on programs for church organ and xun, more recently with singer Elisabeth Holmertz reflecting on texts and music by Hildegard of Bingen.
  • Collaboration with bagpipe, shawm, and cornetto player Ian Harrison on medieval music from Scandinavia and England.
  • Developed a storytelling concert based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Nightingale with actress Ellen Hillingsø.
  • Collaboration with composer Ellen Lindquist, poet Margrethe Aas, and singer Elisabeth Holmertz on a new work for voice and goat horn, created for the landscapes of Scandinavian mountain pasture culture.
  • Duos with recorder player Bolette Roed (music from the Middle Ages to today) and guitarist Silene Høxbro (folk melodies from Danish and Norwegian manuscripts of the 16th and 18th centuries). He also collaborates with pianist Carsten Dahl in a program joining Poul’s oldest musical traditions with Carsten’s spontaneous improvisations.