For the kick-off of its 2009-10 season, the Edvard Grieg Society of Norway House will present The Oslo Chamber Choir in a Minnesota concert tour.
Oslo Kammerkor (Oslo chamber choir), among the leading choirs in Norway, has become particularly famous for its groundbreaking exploration of vocal folk music. They have brought the ancient Norwegian singing tradition called "kveding," usually done by single voices, into innovative choir performances.
In 2009, The Oslo Chamber Choir celebrates its 25th anniversary. It was founded by Grete Pedersen and has established itself as one of the leading choirs in Norway, performing different genres of music at a high artistic level. The choir holds a unique position, both nationally and internationally, because of their innovative work with the traditional Norwegian vocal music.
Conductor and Artistic Director, Håkon Daniel Nystedt, grandson of renowned Norwegian conductor/composer, Knute Nystedt, took over directing the choir in 2005. Under Nystedt’s direction, the choir and soloists have become one of Norway’s premier musical performers.
In 2005, the choir was invited to the World Symposium on Choral Music in Kyoto, Japan, where it performed several successful Norwegian folk music concerts. Since then the Oslo Chamber Choir has performed in Denmark (2006), Minnesota USA (2007), Italy (2008), and Japan (2008). Wherever in the world this repertoire is presented, the response from the audience is strikingly similar – this music goes directly to the heart.
Conductor Håkon Daniel Nystedt (born 1980) has been the artistic director of the Oslo Chamber Choir since 2005. Apart from his work with the Oslo Chamber Choir, he works primarily with orchestras. He studied at The Norwegian Academy of Music with Grete Pedersen and Ole Kristian Ruud. At the moment he lives in Copenhagen where he is specializing in opera conducting, studying with the Italian conductor Giancarlo Andretta. Nystedt has worked with several of Norway’s professional orchestras, and in 2007 he received The Norwegian Radio Orchestra’s prize for young talents.
Soloist Bjørn Sigurd Glorvigen (born1972) is a Norwegian folk singer (“Kveder”) from the small mountain village Dovre in Gudbrandsdalen. He has lived in Oslo for the last ten years where he studied music at the University of Oslo and at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Bjørn Sigurd’s career started as a member of the folk-jazz band “Østenfor Sol”, a group which made use of lyrics in Dovre dialect combined with melodic, jazz-inspired melodies. Glorvigen had been a member of Oslo Chamber Choir from 1998 until 2008. He has had a central role in the choir’s folk music projects because of his stylistic knowledge and his soloist engagements.
Soloist Liv Ulvik (born 1979) is a highly educated singer that has specialized in Norwegian traditional singing. She has been working both in – and outside Europe for some years. She likes using the traditional music in old and new ways, and is cooperating with jazz musicians and classical musicians as well as other traditional musicians. She is also working with actors and dancers, in both improvised and non-improvised performances. Her last theatre engagement was on the Norwegian National Theatre.
Tickets for the Twin Cities performance are $20 (general seating) in advance, $25 at the door. Group, student, and senior discounts available. Call 1-800-838-3006 to purchase tickets. For all other information, call 1-877-247-7439 or go to www.norwayhouse.net. The tour is sponsored in part by The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington, DC.
Friday, September 25th
Moorhead, MN – Memorial Chapel, Concordia College, 7:30 pm
Concordia College, 901 8th Street South, Moorhead, MN 56562
For ticket information contact: Roxane Case: 218-299-4366, case@cord.edu
Saturday, September 26th
Minneapolis, MN – Hoversten Chapel, Augsburg College Campus, 7:30 pm
Riverside Ave. Between 22nd and 23rd Avenues
Ticket information: 1-800-838-3006, www.norwayhouse.net
Sunday, September 27th
St. Cloud, MN – Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4:00 pm
Church Sanctuary, 4310 County Road 137, St. Cloud, MN 56301
For information, contact: Brenda Handel Johnson 320-252-6230, Bhandeljohnson@hotmail.com
Monday, September 28th
Northfield, MN – Boe Chapel, St. Olaf College Campus, 7:30 pm
1520 St Olaf Ave. Northfield, MN 55057
For information, contact: Barb Barth 507-786-3180 barth@stolaf.edu
Tuesday, September 29th
For Participants of Transatlantic Science Week 2009
I have just finished listening to an NPR broadcast of the Oslo Chamber Choir in Minnesota. At 68 years of age, and trained in classical music, I can say that this was the most beautiful music I could ever imagine hearing. Its beautiful simplicity springs from the deepest and purest recesses of the human spirit. It arcs cleanly from whatever we might call God directly to our hearts. What a truly religious experience! Thank you.
I also heard the Oslo Chamber Choir on NPR and was wondering if there are any recordings out there. I would love to add this to my collection.
Where would yo go online to find albums to purchase for the Oslo Chamber Choir? Thanks
Incredible. Chillingly beautiful, in particular the solo works. I turned on the radio on my way to work and was trying to determine the language and nationality – thought it must be Gaelic. What a surprise to learn that the songs are Norwegian folk songs! The Vikings left quite a cultural tradition in Britain…
I repeat the question above: where is it possible to purchase cds of this music?
Actually, my mistake was to check Amazon under Oslo Chamber Choir. It is actually listed under Oslo Kammerkor. Cds and MP3 downloads are available.