|
THE NORWEGIAN SOLOISTS' CHOIR
The motive powers behind the activities of The Norwegian Soloists' Choir consist of high musical standards, a strong awareness of tradition, and an equally strong musical inquisitiveness.
The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir occupies a unique
position in the music life of Norway. The choir has given over two hundred
premier performances of which over seventy have been of works by Norwegian
composers. The choir was established in 1950 by the Norwegian Soloists’
Society with the aim of becoming an elite ensemble for performing choral
music to the highest possible standard. The choir’s first conductor was Knut
Nystedt, who led the ensemble for forty years. In 1990 Grete Pedersen took
over as conductor, and now holds the position of artistic director of the
Norwegian Soloists’ Choir.
The members of the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir are professionally trained,
hand-picked singers all of whom are potential soloists in their respective
genres. The choir engages twenty-six singers on time-limited contracts, a
model which allows the number of singers to be varied according to the
repertoire of a particular project. This gives both flexibility and
stability and permits the choir to achieve its overall object at all times:
the best possible musical results. The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir performs in
Norway and in other countries, at venues ranging from concert halls and
churches to ball rooms and bus garages. The choir maintains a youthful
profile, receptive to and willing to perform newly written works, while at
the same time retaining a fundament of classical works from the Nordic and
international choral
repertoire.
Since 1990 the choir has sung under the leadership
of Grete Pedersen, internationally acclaimed for her stylistically assured
and musically convincing performances. Through a great number of concerts in
Norway and abroad, recordings for radio and television, and CD recordings,
she has become one of the most noted and sought-after conductors in the
Nordic countries.
The Norwegian Soloists´Choir released two CD-recordings on BIS Records in 2011: "White Night", containing Norwegian folk music adapted for choir, soloist and fiddle, was described by Gramophone as "some of the most striking and moving singing put down on disc for years." The latest release, "Im Herbst", contains "hidden gems" by the romantic composers Brahms and Schubert. Upcoming recordings, containing contemporary music by Fartein Valen, Olivier Messiaen, Alban Berg and Anton Webern, will be released on CD by BIS Records in January 2013.
In 2012, The Norwegian Soloists´ Choir will give premiere to a new work for choir, winds, strings, electronics and glass percussion by the rewarded Norwegian composer Ragnhild Berstad at Oslo International Church Festival, and participate in staging of "The Creation" by Joseph Haydn in collaboration with The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. Other plans include touring in France and performing at Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival.
For more information and booking, please contact:
Managing Director
Birger Carlsen
Office: +47 22 41 39 70
Mobile: +47 91 36 14 56
E-mail: carlsen@solistkoret.no
BOARD
Jan Erik Knarbakk – Chairman
Valgerd Svarstad Haugland
Kari Pahle
Astrid Giskegjerde
Henrik Sand Dagfinrud
Camilla Wiig Revholt
ADMINISTRATION
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Birger Carlsen
Mobile: +47 91 36 14 56
E-mail: carlsen@solistkoret.no
ASSISTANT MANAGING DIRECTOR
Mari F. Iversen
Telephone: +47 90 60 36 01
E-mail: iversen@solistkoret.no
PRODUCER
Marie Bakken Sivertsen
Telephone: +47 413 98 404
E-mail: marie@solistkoret.no
CONDUCTOR
Grete Pedersen
E-mail: grete.pedersen@solistkoret.no
|
