Ruben Sverre Gjertsen (Norway 1977) studied composition in Bergen with Morten Eide Pedersen, James Clapperton and followed masterclasses with guest composers like Brian Ferneyhough, Klaus Huber, Salvatore Sciarrino, Philippe Hurel, Luca Franscesconi and Helmut Lachenmann. And Voix Nouvelles at Royaumont (2000) with Brian Ferneyhough, Jean-Luc Hervé and José Evangelista, which included a performance of a new work, "Contradiction", with Nouvel Ensemble Modern.

Works were performed during five Young Nordic Music festivals, in Helsinki, Aarhus, Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki again. James Clapperton and Sharleen Harshenin commissioned "Miniatures III", and performed it in Bergen, Reykjavik and Helsinki.The piece "Rituals III" for 59 musicians was developed during the Nordic Composers Workshop with Stavanger Symphony Orchestra (2001-2002) conducted by Zsolt Nagy. Several workshops gave a possibility to revise the piece before a final performance.

In the season 2002-2003, Ensemble Intercontemporain performed the pieces "Contradiction" and "Miniatures II". "Rituals II" was selected for ISCM 2004 in Switzerland. During Aspekte Salzburg 2006, "Miniatures II", "Miniatures III" and "Rituals II" were performed by Aspekte New Music Ensemble conducted by Kai Röhrig.

Pierre Boulez and Lucerne Festival Academy commissioned the new work "Circles", which will be performed september 2006.