Artists
photo: Jørgen Mathisen
The Engegård Quartet
Arvid Engegård—Violin
Amanda Håøy horn—Violin
Juliet Jopling—Viola
Jan Clemens Carlsen—cello
Founded in Lofoten in 2005, the Engegård Quartet quickly established itself as one of Norway’s most sought-after and innovative ensembles. Their bold and fresh interpretations of the classical repertoire, combined with a deep connection to their Scandinavian roots, have earned them recognition in Norway and internationally and inspired innovative collaborations.
The Engegård Quartet has recorded the complete string quartets of Robert Schumann, Catharinus Elling and Johan Kvandal, and recently released a box set of all W. A. Mozart’s string quartets. The quartet has commissioned works from Norwegian composers including Maja S. K. Ratkje, Olav Anton Thommessen, Therese Birkelund Ulvo and Cecilie Ore. International commissions include works by Olli Mustonen, Philip Dutton and Julian Anderson.
Every year since 2016, the Engegård Quartet has organised its own mini-festival, “…på 1-2-3”, focusing on a single composer over the course of a long weekend. Composers featured to date include Schumann, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Mustonen, Haydn, Schubert, Bartók, and Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn.
The Engegård Quartet has performed at some of Europe’s finest venues, including the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Rudolfinum in Prague, and has undertaken several tours of South America. In 2010, the quartet received a Supersonic Award for its recording of Beethoven, Nordheim and Bartók. In 2023, they were nominated for a Norwegian Grammy (Spellemannprisen) for their recording of Johan Kvandal’s string quartets, and in 2024 they received the Rolf Gammleng Award.
photo: Eirin Ø. Sørum
Tor Espen Aspaas
Tor Espen Aspaas (born 1971) is a Norwegian pianist, chamber musician and music communicator. He completed his soloist diploma at the Norwegian Academy of Music in 1996 and made his solo debut in Oslo the following year. Aspaas has played a major role both as a performer and as a teacher: from 2006 to 2023 he was a professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music, and he has also worked as a professor at NTNU.
Aspaas has collaborated as a soloist with a number of national and international symphony orchestras and has given several world premieres in Norway, including piano concertos by Olav Anton Thommessen and Terje Bjørklund. He was the initiator and artistic director of the chamber music festival Vinterfestspill i Bergstaden in Røros (1999–2008, and in 2014).
Among his many CD releases is Beethoven's Testaments of 1802 (Sonatas 8 & 9) with violinist Ragnhild Hemsing (2020). Aspaas has received a number of prizes and distinctions, including the Young Lindeman Prize in 2004 and the Levin Prize in 2005. In 2016 he was appointed Knight 1st Class of the Order of St. Olav.
photo: Ole Kaland / NRK
Tove Bjørgaas
Tove Bjørgaas (born 1972) is a journalist and TV correspondent. She studied journalism at Oslo University College and went on to study economics at Johns Hopkins University in the USA. She joined The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) in 1996.
Bjørgaas is particularly known for her work as NRK’s US correspondent in Washington, DC, serving for several periods: 2006–2010 and 2014–2018, as well as holding a US-related role with NRK later. She has written a book about the Obama era, Forandring og frykt: Barack Obamas USA (2011).
Beate Brox
Beate Brox (born 1967) is a Norwegian musician, author and editor. She was educated at the Rogaland Music Conservatory and pursued further studies in music communication at the Norwegian Academy of Music.
Her main instrument is classical percussion, and for many years she toured as a performing artist with Rikskonsertene/Kulturtanken and Den kulturelle skolesekken. Among her touring productions are Humlens flukt, Sirkusdrømmen, Dråpen H2O, Treet med det rare i and Takk for alt, about life’s final mystery. She has performed with many of Norway’s symphony orchestras and military bands and appears on CD recordings, e.g. with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and Trondheim Wind Ensemble.
Brox has also published several books, such as Min første bok – melodisk slagverk, Lekerbisken and Musikkspillet A–B–C on Norsk Musikforlag. She works as a music communicator with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Fredrik Heistø Carlsen
Fredrik Heistø Carlsen (born 2008) is a Norwegian cellist from Langhus. He began playing the cello at Oppegård School of Music and Performing Arts in 2016, studying with Karoline Riseng. He has performed at the Engegård Quartet’s 123 festivals on several occasions, as well as at other festivals such as the Norsjø Chamber Music Festival and Verbier in Switzerland.
Heistø Carlsen has been a student in several talent programmes, including TUP (the Talent Development Programme for promising young musicians between 13 and 19) and Ung Filharmoni. He has performed with Bjørg Lewis and Kari Ravnan, and currently studies with Louisa Tuck as part of Unge Talenter Barratt-Due. He has appeared as a soloist with, among others, Barratt-Due’s Young Symphony Orchestra and Drammen Symphony Orchestra. Heistø Carlsen is the recipient of the Ånun Reis Memorial Prize and the Midgard Prize (senior class, autumn 2025).
Sølvi Edvardsen
Sølvi Edvardsen (born 1951) is one of Norway’s leading choreographers. She was educated at the Norwegian Ballet Institute, specialising in Indian dance (1973–1976), and she has later studied in Paris, Cologne and India. From early on, Edvardsen linked her work to a strong theatrical expression, in which movement and form often convey a clear human content.
She made her debut as a choreographer with Collage Dance Company in 1980 and worked there both as a dancer and choreographer. She retired as a dancer in 1985. Edvardsen went on to develop as a choreographer with commissions for, among others, the Norwegian National Ballet, Carte Blanche, Oslo Dance Ensemble, Norwegian television and the Bergen International Festival. Throughout her career she has created both commissioned works and large-scale productions, often characterised by a distinctive integration of music/sound, lighting and overall stage dramaturgy. Edvardsen received the Critics’ Prize for the production Kimen (1983/84).
photo: Nicholas Santangelo Schwartz
Anna Fedorova
Anna Fedorova (born 1990) is a Ukrainian-Dutch classical concert pianist. She made her national debut at the age of seven with the National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine.
In 2008 Fedorova graduated from the Lysenko Music School for Gifted Children, and as a student she received the President of Ukraine Scholarship. She later studied with Leonid Margarius at the International Piano Academy, and at the Royal College of Music in London under Norma Fisher. She has also received artistic guidance from world-renowned pianists such as Alfred Brendel, Menahem Pressler and András Schiff.
Fedorova performs as a soloist, chamber musician and with symphony orchestras in many of the world’s major concert halls. In addition to concerts and recordings, she is actively engaged in charitable work, especially in light of the situation in Ukraine, including benefit performances and charity concerts.
José David Ospina Gaviria
José David Ospina Gaviria (born 1999) is a bass player born in Colombia. He studied at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Olivier Thiery and Burak Marlali, and at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf with Rick Stotijn.
His chamber music projects have taken him to renowned halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Berliner Philharmonie and the Musikverein Wien. As an orchestra musician, he has played with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, the Verbier Junior Festival Orchestra and LGT Young Soloists. He now works as principal/solo bass on projects with the Norwegian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. Solo highlights include taking part in the opening concert of the Summer Academy Mozarteum Salzburg as well as touring in Colombia, Germany and South Africa.
Marie Solum Gran
Marie Solum Gran (born 1984) has worked as a professional horn player for many years, performing both tutti and solo horn with many of Norway’s symphony orchestras. She has extensive experience from concerts, tours and recordings with a wide range of ensembles. In addition to longer contracts with major institutions, she has taken on numerous freelance engagements in various genres. Marie has performed with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra since 2009, has given concerts and toured with the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, and has taken part in a variety of projects and releases within contemporary music, pop, rock and film music.
She received her education from the Norwegian Academy of Music under Professor Frøydis Ree Wekre and from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover under Professor Markus Maskuniitty.
Melissa Hough
Melissa Hough (born 1986) is a dancer from Maryland, USA, and trained at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington. She previously danced as first soloist with Boston Ballet under Mikko Nissinen and with Houston Ballet under Stanton Welch. Hough joined the Norwegian National Ballet in 2013 and was promoted to soloist in 2014.
She was highlighted in the category of Outstanding Female Performance in Dance Europe’s Critics’ Choice in 2015 for her role as Carmen in Scarlett’s Carmen, a three-act ballet created for her in 2014. In the film version of Ekman’s A Swan Lake, which has been shown internationally, she dances the Black Swan.
Hough’s repertoire as a dancer also includes leading roles in Manon, The Firebird, La Bayadère, The Nutcracker, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Anna Karenina and Onegin. As a choreographer, Hough has created works in both Norway and the USA, on commission and on her own initiative.
She was previously associated with New York City Dance Alliance as a teacher of ballet and contemporary dance. She has also taught at several schools in Oslo, including the Oslo National Academy of the Arts.
Ipek D. Mehlum
Ipek D. Mehlum (born 1974) is a Norwegian-Turkish actor and dancer who moved to Norway as a teenager. Her first language is Turkish Sign Language. Mehlum works primarily with sign language–based performing arts, where visual storytelling and stage representation are central to her artistic practice.
She trained at Nordic Black Theatre in Oslo (1999–2001) and made her acting debut at Teater Manu in 1999. Mehlum has created and performed numerous productions for both children and adults, in Norway and internationally. She uses sign language actively as a theatrical expression, and has helped ensure that the perspectives of deaf and hard of hearing people have gained a natural and respected place in the theatre.
In addition to her stage work, she has appeared in short films and television productions. She has been nominated for the Hedda Award (2010) and she received the Rolf Gammleng Award in 2022, an achievement described as a historic milestone.
photo: Sveinung Hoel Bjorå
Nikita Khnykin
Nikita Khnykin (born 2003) is a young Norwegian pianist who is rapidly gaining recognition. He received the Robert Levin Prize in 2022 and was nominated for both the Norwegian Soloist Prize and Equinor Music Award in 2023. Having started his musical education at Barratt-Due Music Institute, Khnykin has worked closely with mentors like Jiri Hlinka, Leif Ove Andsnes, Håvard Gimse and Christian Ihle Hadland, and he has participated in masterclasses with a number of distinguished pianists including Bertrand Chamayou, Kirill Gerstein and Lilya Zilberstein. He currently studies with Julia Mustonen-Dahlkvist at Ingesund College of Music in Sweden.
As a soloist, Khnykin performed with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in 2019 and with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra in 2018 and 2020 in live-streamed and televised performances. He was invited by Leif Ove Andsnes to perform at the Rosendal Chamber Music Festival in 2024, and has since appeared at the Stavanger Chamber Music Festival and Valdres Chamber Music Festival in 2025, collaborating with leading musicians internationally. Khnykin also works as a conductor and a composer.
photo: ingvild festervoll melien
Halvor Festervoll Melien
Halvor Festervoll Melien (born 1984) is a Norwegian baritone from Høn in Asker. He performs regularly in concert halls and at festivals across Europe and Asia, collaborating with internationally renowned ensembles, orchestras and conductors. His wide-ranging repertoire as a concert and opera singer spans from 17th-century music to contemporary works, with a particular focus on the music of Bach.
Melien has taken part in numerous world premieres and CD recordings. He studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music and participated in the Académie du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2014.
photo: Laura Malmivaara
Olli Mustonen
Olli Mustonen (born 1967) is a Finnish pianist, conductor and composer. He began his studies in piano, harpsichord and composition at the age of five, with teachers such as Eero Heinonen and Einojuhani Rautavaara.
Mustonen occupies a unique place on today’s musical scene. His life as a composer lies at the heart of both his piano playing and conducting, and he is known for combining his roles as composer, pianist and conductor in an exceptional way, as a kind of “triple musician”. He has worked extensively with various orchestras in Finland, but has also brought his distinctive musicality to many of the world’s leading orchestras, such as the Berlin Philharmonic and the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics. He both composes and performs chamber music, and for 30 years he has collaborated in a duo with Steven Isserlis. As a solo pianist, Mustonen has performed all over the world, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House.
Mustonen has an extensive discography, including recordings of all of Bartók’s and Prokofiev’s piano concertos.
photo: Marco Borggreve
Klaus Mäkelä
Klaus Mäkelä (born 1996) is a Finnish conductor and cellist. He became interested in conducting at the age of 12, when he sang in the chorus of the Finnish National Opera. He went on to study conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula, and cello with Marko Ylönen, Timo Hanhinen and Hannu Kiiski.
At 21, he made his guest-conducting debut with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and subsequently became its principal guest conductor, the youngest in the orchestra’s history. Mäkelä has been Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic since 2020 and Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris since 2021. He has also served as Artistic Director of the Turku Music Festival. In the autumn of 2027, he will take up the positions of Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
As a cellist, he has appeared as soloist with several orchestras, and he is also an eager chamber musician. Mäkelä has released a number of critically acclaimed albums with the Oslo Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Paris and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. In recognition of his artistic achievements, he has been awarded the Sibelius Medal (2022) and appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2025).
photo: Audoin Desforges
Sarah Nemtanu
Sarah Nemtanu (born 1981) is a French-Romanian violinist. She studied violin at the conservatories in Bordeaux and Paris, and during her studies developed a strong passion for chamber music and orchestral playing. Following success in international competitions and a musical breakthrough in 2000 with a performance of Brahms’s Double Concerto alongside Gautier Capuçon and the Paris Conservatory Orchestra, she was appointed concertmaster of the Orchestre National de France at the age of 21.
Nemtanu has taught violin at the Paris Conservatory since 2022, and her love of music is closely bound up with passing on knowledge and sharing her artistry with both young children and advanced students. From 2026 she will be concertmaster of the Orchestre de Paris.
Amy Norrington
Amy Norrington has a varied career as a chamber musician, soloist and guest principal cellist in various orchestras throughout Europe. She is a member of the Fortepiano Trio Talisma and until this year a member of the award-winning ensemble Oxalys. She also collaborates with other chamber ensembles such as Camerata RCO Amsterdam and the Elias Quartet, and with world-class musicians such as Jeremy Denk, Dénes Várjon, Steven Isserlis, Pekka Kuusisto and Antje Weithaas.
Norrington also works as a Professor of Cello at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven and Professor of chamber music at the Orpheus Institute in Gent. She regularly gives masterclasses at The Royal Academy of Music in London, RNCM and the Brussels Conservatoire and at various summer music festivals in Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Holland and Germany. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the acclaimed International Chamber Music Festival in Belgium, ‘Festival Resonances’.
Wolfgang Plagge
Wolfgang Plagge (born 1960) grew up in Oslo as the son of Dutch parents. He began playing the piano at the age of four and became known as a child prodigy when, at eleven, he won the Youth Piano Championship and the following year made his debut as a pianist with a solo piano recital in the University Aula.
During his youth he studied piano with Reimar Riefling and Jens Harald Bratlie and music theory with Øistein Sommerfeldt and Johan Kvandal. In 1980 he was admitted as a student at the Hamburg University of Music, where his teachers included Evgeni Koroliov in piano and György Ligeti in composition.
In the years following his studies, Plagge has distinguished himself more as a composer than as a pianist and has produced an extensive body of work, ranging from liturgical music to symphonic compositions. The main part of his output, however, consists of piano and chamber music. At the same time, he has maintained an active performing career, appearing as soloist with orchestras in Norway and abroad and collaborating with a wide range of individual musicians.
Bjørn Sundquist
Bjørn Sundquist (born 1948) is one of Norway’s most prominent actors, known for a wide-ranging repertoire in theatre, film and television. He trained at the National Academy of Theatre (1969–1973) and made his acting debut in 1972. Sundquist quickly gained a permanent place in Norwegian theatre, working at Det Norske Teatret for several decades before also spending a period at the National Theatre. He later continued his career as a freelancer. Throughout his career he has played major roles in both classic and contemporary plays, collaborating with leading directors and developing a distinctive style that ranges from realistic portrayals to more poetic, stylised interpretations.
On screen, Sundquist has had numerous award-winning roles and received several honours, including the Hedda Honorary Award (2017) and Gullruten (2000). In 2005 he was named Norway’s best male film actor of the past century.
Nora Taksdal
Nora Taksdal (born 1968) is a Norwegian violist. She was educated at the Eastern Norway Music Conservatory, the Norwegian Academy of Music and the Folkwang Hochschule für Musik in Essen.
As an orchestra musician, Taksdal has played with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and since 2006 she has been principal violist of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK). She has also performed with contemporary music ensembles such as Borealis, Oslo Sinfonietta and BIT20. In 1984 she was one of the founders of the Vertavo String Quartet, in which she played for ten years.
Taksdal has wide-ranging experience as an improviser, music communicator and teacher. She has taught at the University of Oslo, the Grieg Academy in Bergen, the Norwegian Academy of Music and the Barratt-Due Institute of Music.
photo: frances marshall
Cédric Tiberghien
Cédric Tiberghien (born 1975) is a French pianist who studied at the Paris Conservatoire. Tiberghien is known for his versatility and wide-ranging repertoire, and for his openness to exploring innovative concert formats and chamber music partnerships. He is particularly renowned for his interpretations of classical, French and contemporary music.
Tiberghien has performed with leading orchestras around the world, won several international prizes and released numerous albums. He recently completed a three-season performance of Beethoven’s complete piano variations for Wigmore Hall and the Harmonia Mundi label. His period-instrument recording of Ravel’s piano concertos with François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles was nominated for a 2023 Gramophone Award.
Pierre Xhonneux
Pierre Xhonneux (born 1988) is a Belgian clarinetist. He studied at the Institut Supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie in Namur with J.-L. Votano and with Nicolas Baldeyrou at the Paris Conservatory. He has also studied historical clarinets at the Conservatory in Gent.
After his studies, he played with the Liège Philharmonic for several years and at festivals in many European countries. He has won several international competitions.
He started with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2015 and is now the principal clarinetist there. In addition, Xhonneux is active as a chamber musician with, among others, the Oslo Chamber Academy and various other ensembles in Norway and Belgium, and he teaches at the Academy at Barratt-Due Institute of Music.
Dénes Várjon
Dénes Várjon (born 1968) is a Hungarian pianist. He graduated from the Franz Liszt Music Academy in 1991, where his professors included Sándor Falvai, György Kurtág and Ferenc Rados. Parallel to his studies he was a regular participant at international master classes with András Schiff. He is known as a universal musician; an excellent soloist, a first-class chamber musician, an artistic leader of festivals, and a highly sought-after piano pedagogue. Várjon has won several prizes and received a number of awards.
As a chamber musician, he has worked regularly with preeminent partners such as Steven Isserlis, Tabea Zimmermann and Kim Kashkashian. As a soloist, he is frequently invited to work with many of the world’s leading symphony orchestras.
He also performs with his wife Izabella Simon, playing four-hand and two-piano recitals together. They have organized and led several chamber music festivals, the most recent one being «kamara.hu» at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. Várjon has an extensive discography and has recorded for the Naxos, Capriccio and Hungaroton labels with critical acclaim.
photo: Eduardus Lee
Maria Włoszczowska
Maria Włoszczowska (born 1991) is a Polish violinist who studied at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, where she won several prizes at a young age. She established herself in the UK after completing her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is a versatile musician, performing as a soloist, director and chamber musician. She is the Director and Leader of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Artistic Partner of the Royal Northern Sinfonia, in a position that was created especially for her.
Recent career highlights include her solo debut at the BBC Proms with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and conductor Dinis Sousa, directing the Chamber Orchestra of Europe at Mozartwoche Salzburg and her New York recital debut at 92NY with Jeremy Denk, where they performed all six Bach Sonatas for violin and keyboard.
Maria leads the Valo Quartet, which recently made its London debut at Wigmore Hall with Angela Hewitt. They perform regularly at Festival Resonances, Brussels, as well as Trasimeno Music Festival, Italy, Lammermuir Festival, Scotland, Musiq3 Festival, Belgium, and Kaustinen Chamber Music Festival, Finland.
Nordberg String Orchestra
Nordberg String Orchestra is a neighbourhood string orchestra, aiming high while being open to all. Its members receive individual tuition in violin, viola, cello or double bass at Tåsen, Kringsjå and Korsvoll schools. The Aspirant Orchestra, Children’s Orchestra and Youth Orchestra rehearse every Monday at Korsvoll School. The orchestra has around 80 members, aged between 4 and 17.
The teachers and conductors include some of Norway’s most prominent musicians, many of whom also have strong ties to the local community. Among them are Juliet Jopling, Arvid Engegård and Mari Lerseth. The orchestra gives numerous concerts each year, both locally and on tour. It has toured Ireland twice and has a partner orchestra in Galway. Each semester, Nordberg String Orchestra also holds a chamber music weekend for its most enthusiastic young musicians.
photo: Kristin Bolgård
photo: DMS