The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen, Ensemble Allegria & Grete Pedersen
Biography The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen, Ensemble Allegria & Grete Pedersen
Grete Pedersen
The Norwegian conductor Grete Pedersen is one of the most renowned conductors in the international choral scene. Since 1990 Grete Pedersen is Music Director of the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir whose recordings were awarded the ‘Choc de la Musique’ and the ‘Prix d'Or’ from Diapason.
Grete Pedersen is a demanded guest conductor and has worked with the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, Swedish Radio Choir, Netherlands Radio Chor, Netherlands Chamber Choir, Danish National Vocal Ensemble and Choir, Rundfunkchor Berlin, MDR Leipzig Radio Choir, Chamber Choir Ireland, Pro Coro Canada, Tokyo Cantat, World Youth Choir, Freiburger Barockorchester, Stavanger Symphony, Slovenian Philharmonic among others. Grete Pedersen and the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir were invited to participate in the highly-acclaimed project “150 psalms” at Early Music Festival Utrecht, New York and Brussels in 2017/18.
Future highlights will see engagements with Swedish Radio Choir, RIAS Kammerchor, Latvian Radio Choir, Odense Symphony & Chorus, Netherlands Chamber Choir, Chamber Choir Ireland, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, Estonian Male Choir, Orquesta y Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid, Slovenian Philharmonic & Choir, Tokyo Cantat etc.
Pedersen's name stands for productions and stagings with wide stylistic variety. Her contrasting concert programmes are known to often be a rather radical mixture. In addition to premiering contemporary musical works, her efforts have increasingly been directed towards larger productions for choir and orchestra.
BIS Records has released numerous recordings by Grete Pedersen and the Norwegian Soloists Choir with works by Per Norgard, Kaija Saariaho, Iannis Xenakis, Helmut Lachenmann, Alfred Janson, J.S. Bach, Knut Nystedt, Alban Berg, Olivier Messiaen, Fartein Valen, Anton Webern, Johannes Brahms, Franz Schubert, Edvard Grieg and Norwegian Folk Music.
Her album with J.S. Bach Motets with the Norwegian Soloists‘ Choir and Ensemble Allegria was awarded the Diapason d’Or in 2018. The album The wind blows with music by Alfred Janson together with The Norwegian Soloists' Choir Records has been chosen as 'Record of the year 2018' by Gramophone.
Grete Pedersen completed her postgraduate studies in conducting at the Norwegian State Academy of Music in Oslo and has also studied chorus conducting with Eric Ericson and orchestra conducting with Kenneth Kiesler. She currently teaches as a professor in conducting at the Norwegian State Academy of Music and is a sought-after teacher for masterclasses.
In 1984 Grete Pedersen founded the Oslo Chamber Choir which she directed until 2004.
In November 2019, Grete Pedersen was appointed Knight 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian St. Olavs Order for her merit and outstanding achievements in the arts.
Ensemble Allegria
Allegria (ital.) means a merriment and enjoyment, and indeed it was the pleasure of playing together that led a group of music students to launch the orchestra in 2007. Ensemble Allegria is comprised of around 20 musicians between 20-26 years of age. Since its beginning, the orchestra has been managed independently by its own members, with the Norwegian Academy of Music playing a significant supportive role. Its permanent concertmaster and artistic director is Maria Angelika Carlsen. In addition to its own concerts, Ensemble Allegria has performed at a number of festivals, among them, Bergen International Festival, Hardanger Music Festival, and the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival. It has collaborated with internationally known soloists, such as Tine Thing Helseth, Christian Ihle Hadland, Martin Fröst, and Arve Tellefsen, and it has engaged in projects in collaboration with the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, the Oslo Cathedral Choir, and Oslo Sinfonietta. In the autumn of 2012, Ensemble Allegria received the Statoil Talent Award for classical music.
The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir
is an innovative young ensemble, steeped in a rich history. As one of Europe's leading chamber choirs, they perform spectacular concerts in Norway and abroad, in concert halls and churches, in caravans and in abandoned factory venues. The Norwegian Soloists' Choir consists of 26 hand-picked, professional singers who have a tremendous ability to blend their voices, resulting in a highly distinctive choral expression. Along with its celebrated artistic leader Grete Pedersen, the choir achieves ambitious artistic goals through constant development.
Concerts featuring the Norwegian Soloists' Choir give listeners a chance to experience new compositions, folk music and classics from Nordic and international choral literature – often in unexpected combinations. The choir organises its own series of concerts, in addition to appearing at leading festivals in Norway and abroad. The choir has a number of critically acclaimed albums and distinctions to its credit.
Since its inception in 1950, the Norwegian Soloists' Choir has carved out a unique position in Norwegian music. Knut Nystedt conducted the choir for no fewer than 40 years before Grete Pedersen took over in 1990. In autumn 2019, Yuval Weinberg will raise his baton as the choir's first guest conductor.
In 2018, the album Bach: The Motets received the prestigious French prize "Diapason d'or de l'année". This was the third time the choir has been awarded the Diapason distinction. The choir's recording of Meins lebens licht was nominated for a Spellemann Award, often referred to as the Norwegian equivalent to a Grammy. The choir has also been named "Performers of the Year" by the Norwegian Society of Composers.
In 2009, as the first choir in the Nordic countries, the Norwegian Soloist Choir was inducted into Tenso, an exclusive network of Europe's foremost chamber choirs. The choir is also a member of NTO (the Association of Norwegian Theatres and Orchestras), the Norwegian Choir Association and the Ultima Foundation.
