The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir

The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir (Det Norske So- listkor) is one of Scandinavia’s foremost chamber choirs and one of the Norway’s most eminent en- sembles in any genre. The choir is equally at home in the classical/romantic repertoire and in contem- porary music, with regular excursions into folk- derived music and National Romantic works.
The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir was founded in 1950 by the composer Knut Nystedt, who was its conductor for forty years. In 1990 he was succeed- ed by Grete Pedersen, who remains the choir’s artistic director to this day.
The choir comprises 26 highly trained singers, all potential soloists in various genres as well as fully embracing the art of ensemble singing. In recent years the choir has collaborated with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, RIAS Kammer- chor, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. Refractions is the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir’s fourth recording for BIS.
Grete Pedersen is internationally acclaimed for her stylistically assured and musically convincing performances of baroque music, classical repertoire and contemporary music. For her work in bringing Norwegian folk music and traditional singing into the field of choral music she is regarded as a pio- neer.
She is professor of choral conducting at the Norwegian Academy of Music and is in demand all over Europe as guest conductor and for giving master classes. She regularly conducts the Swedish Radio Choir and the Netherlands Chamber Choir, and has conducted numerous works for choir and orchestra with ensembles such as the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, the Trondheim Soloists and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. In 1984 Grete Pedersen founded the Oslo Chamber Choir, of which she remained the conductor until 2004. Since 1990 she has been the artistic director of the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir. She was awarded the Norwegian Critics’ Prize for Music in 2010, in re- cognition of a concert with the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir.
Berit Norbakken Solset graduated from the Nor- wegian Academy of Music in 2005, becoming one of the two winners in the prestigious national competition INTRO-klassisk the following year. With a repertoire ranging from early baroque works to contemporary music, she is in demand as a soloist, performing with leading European en- sembles and orchestras. She has been a member of the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir since 2003.
The Norwegian professional contemporary ensem- ble Oslo Sinfonietta is counted among Europe’s finest. A forum for innovative music, the Oslo Sin- fonietta regularly performs at international contem- porary festivals and works with composers from all over the world. Its artistic director is Christian Eggen.
Founded in 1946, the Norwegian Radio Orches- tra won nationwide popularity during the tenure of Øivind Bergh, its first principal conductor, for its programming of entertainment music and light classics. Since that time the orchestra has steadily expanded its repertoire, gaining an international reputation. A group of 54 musicians, its repertoire is exceptionally wide, ranging from baroque, clas- sical and contemporary to jazz, pop and rock.