European Chamber Music Academy

European Chamber Music Academy Oslo Session 2015 Norwegian Academy of Music 9 13 April

The Spirit of Creativity Opening Concert Thursday 9 April 07:30 pm Lindemansalen Dear friends, Welcome to five intensive days of sharing, learning and music making at the highest levels of artistic excellence. This year s session features masterclasses, lectures and concerts with some of the best and most passionate advocates of chamber music in the education of young professionals. The programme reflects this commitment by exploring the many roles of Creativity in the development of classical music. We re proud to welcome so many distinguished members of the ECMA community to Oslo, and wish you all a productive and thorougly enjoyable stay with us. Peter Tornquist - Principal Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): String Quartet in C major, Op. 33 No. 3, Hob. III, No. 39 Allegro moderato Allegretto, (scherzo) Adagio ma non troppo Rondo, (presto, finale) Mettis Quartet Bèla Bartok (1881-1945): String Quartet in a-minor, No. 2, Op. 17 Moderato Allegro molto capriccioso Lento Hanson Quartet -- Break -- Classical music appears as a synthesis of free, autonomous expression and strictly structured forms. The improvisational element has since the early 1900s been toned down in art music, but a new interest in improvisation is currently emerging throughout the music world. During this year s ECMA gathering, with Beethoven s works as the point of departure, we will explore the liberating aspects of improvisational performance. Among several prominent Norwegian musicians joining us this year, are the players of the Vertavo String Quartet, who established this high standing ensemble while studying with Hatto Beyerle nearly 30 year ago. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Trio in E flat major, Op. 38 Adagio; Allegro con brio Adagio cantabile Tempo di menuetto Thema: Andante con variaizioni Scherzo: Allegro molto e vivace Andante con moto alla Marcia; Presto Trio ClariNord Are Sandbakken - Artistic director Oslo session

Concert Saturday 11 April 6:00 pm Levinsalen Final Concert Monday 13 April 6:00 pm Levinsalen Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 76 No. 4, Sunrise Allegro con spirito Adagio Menuetto: Allegro Finale: Allegro ma non troppo Polychord Quartet Franz Schubert (1797-1828): String Quartet in C major, D 46 No. 4 Adagio Allegro con moto Andante con moto Menuetto. Allegro Allegro Quartetto Testosterone Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 18 No. 6 2. movement; Adagio ma non troppo Improvisation Ergo Quartet Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Piano Trio in B major No. 1, Op. 8 Allegro con brio Scherzo. Allegro molto Adagio Allegro Munich ARTISTrio -- Break -- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Divertimento in E flat major, KV 563 Allegro Adagio Menuetto Andante Menuetto Allegro Boccherini Trio

Lectures Masterclasses Friday 10 April 3:00pm Levinsalen Concert lecture: Beethoven and the Art of Improvisation Tor Espen Aspaas (piano) Saturday 11 April 3:00pm Levinsalen and Lindemansalen Improvisation workshop Wolfgang Plagge (piano) and Henning Kraggerud (violin) Experience the Masters at Work Masterclasses with the ECMA ensembles are held every day (Thursday - Monday) from about 9:30am till the afternoon. Avo Kouyoumdjian, Hatto Beyerle, Johannes Meissl, Elise Båtnes, Per Lundberg and Are Sandbakken will be giving masterclasses. Detailes and schedule are available at the Academy. Open to the public. Sunday 12 April 3:00pm Levinsalen Lecture: Chamber Musical Theater Sports Berit Cardas of the Vertavo String Quartet Monday 13 April 3:00pm Levinsalen Concert Presentation: Approaches to Beethoven s String Quartet No. 14 in C# minor, Op. 131 by composer Nils Henrik Asheim Vertavo String Quartet: Øyvor Volle and Annabelle Meare (violin), Berit Cardas (viola), Bjørg Lewis (cello)

Instructors & Lecturers Hatto Beyerle Viola Hatto Beyerle is the founder and current artistic director of the European Chamber Music Academy ECMA. He is also artistic director of the Europäisches Kulturforum Grossraming in Austria. As violist and chamber musician, Beyerle tours worldwide with the Vienna Soloists, the Alban Berg Quartet and the Vienna Chamber Ensemble. In addition to his performing activities he holds teaching posts in Vienna (MDW), Cincinnati (CCM), Hanover (HMTMH), Basel (MAB) and Fiesole (Florence) and is much in demand for master classes in both viola and chamber music in Europe, Australia, Canada, China and the USA. Among his present and former students are many prize winners of international competitions, including the Hagen Quartet, Artis Quartet, Wihan Quartet, Szymanowski Quartet, Iturriaga Quartet and Meta4 Quartet, the Quatuor Ysaye, Quatuor Debussy, Quatuor Manfred, the Quartetto di Cremona, the Trio Jean Paul and the Trio Ernest Chausson. Hatto Beyerle lives in Benthe, Germany.

Johannes Meissl Violin Avedis Kouyoumdjian Piano Johannes Meissl is professor for string chamber music and vice director of the Joseph Haydn Institut for Chamber Music at Vienna s University of Music and Performing Arts. Artistic director of isa (International Summer Academy Prague-Vienna-Budapest), he also gives masterclasses at numerous renowned schools and summer academies such as CNSM Paris, Guildhall School of Music and Drama London, Tokyo Geidai and Casals Festival Prades, to name a few. Born in Austria, J. Meissl studied at A. Bruckner-Conservatory Linz ( violin and composition ) and at the Academy of Music in Vienna with W. Schneiderhan and G. Hetzel and got strong artistic impulses by Hatto Beyerle. He graduated with distinction and special award. In 1982 he joined the Artis Quartet. As a member of this ensemble he took the opportunity for further studies with the LaSalle Quartet in the USA. After several prizes at international competitions the quartet became a regular at the world s most important music centres and festivals from New York to Tokyo. Numerous prizes for more than 30 recordings (such as Grand Prix du Disque, Diapason d Or, Deutscher Schallplattenpreis Echo etc.), and the Artis series at the Gesellschaft d. Musikfreunde in Vienna, now running its 19th season, also prove the international position of the quartet. Beside the quartet work J. Meissl appears in recitals and as a soloist and at numerous chamber music festivals. J. Meissl is co-initiator of numerous international projects in the field of chamber music and shares with Hatto Beyerle the function of artistic director of ECMA. Having done regular coaching with several orchestras and youth orchestras for many years he has recently sucessfully taken up conducting. Born in Beirut into a family of Armenian descent, Avedis Kouyoumdjian began his studies when he was 12 years old at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He was the youngest student at the time majoring in piano performance. Since winning first prize at the Sixth International Beethoven Competition in Vienna in 1981, Kouyoumdjian has enjoyed a successful and diverse career as performer, professor, director and administrator. He has performed in renowned concert halls in Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan, is a sought after jury member for major international competitions and gives master classes at numerous universities in Europe and Japan. His recordings are testament to his artistry as a pianist and a chamber musician. In 1997 he was appointed Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He is founder of the International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition at the same university and, in 2002, became the co-founder and director of the Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Institute at the university. Since the summer of 2004, he has been Artistic Director of the International Piano Festival at St.-Ursanne in Switzerland.

Elise Båtnes Per Lundberg Violin Piano Elise Båtnes began playing the violin at the age of four, and made her debut four years later as a soloist together with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. She performed with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time at the age of 10 in 1981, as a soloist in a children s concert with Mariss Jansons conducting. In 1982 she performed once again as a soloist with Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra during the performance of Vivaldi s double concerto. She has since performed as a soloist with all of the Norwegian symphony orchestras, as well as in numerous other countries. Today she has the position of First Concert Master in the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and her concert activity also includes solo performances under recognised conductors and orchestras abroad. She has previously held the position of Concert Master in Denmark s Radio Symphony Orchestra for a total of nine years, as well as the Westdeutsche Rundfunk Sinfornieorchester, in Cologne. In addition to symphony music, Bårnes has considerable experience playing chamber music, and has performed at many festivals and chamber music festivals; among them the Bergen International Festival, the Oslo, Risør and Trondheim Chamber Music Festivals and the ICMF in Stavanger. In these settings she often performs with famous Norwegian pianists such as Leif Ove Andsnes, Håvard Gimse and Sveinung Bjelland. Together with Håvard Gimse on the harpsichord, she recorded a CD in 2008 with music by Bela Bartok (Simax Classics). Elise Båtnes performs on a A. Stradivari from 1689 (also called Arditti ) on loan from The Savings Bank Foundation DNB / Dextra Musica. Per Lundberg was born in Stockholm in 1962 but grew up in Norrköping. He studied at the Swedish Broadcasting Music School at Edsbergs castle in Sollentuna (1979-82) and at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna (1982-85) where he gained his soloist s diploma 1985. Per Lundberg is internationally active as both soloist and chamber musician. He has performed with some of the major Swedish symphony orchestras such as Göteborg, Helsingborg, Norrköping symphony orchestra and Chamber orchestra Musica Vitae Växjö. He was the first Swede to perform the Lutoslawski piano concerto together with Göteborg s symphony orchestra. The concert was recorded live by the Swedish Radio. Per Lundberg is a member of the Swedish piano trio, Trio Poseidon, together with Sara Trobäck, first concertmaster of the Göteborg Symphony Orchestra and Claes Gunnarsson, solo cellist of the Göteborg Symphony Orchestra. Per Lundberg is represented on the Labels BIS, Chandos and SoloMusica. He is one of the organizers of the successful Lyckå Chamber Music Festival that had its 30th anniversary celebrations in 2013. Per Lundberg holds the position of professor of chamber music and accompaniment tat the Norwegian academy of Music in Oslo and the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, Edsberg.

Are Sandbakken Tor Espen Aspaas Viola Piano Are Sandbakken studied with Leif Jørgensen in Oslo and Sándor Vegh in Salzburg. For several years he played principal viola with Camerata Academica Salzburg and The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. From 1995 to 2002 he was principal viola of the Oslo Philharmonic under Mariss Jansons. He performed as soloist with this orchestra on numerous occasions, as well as with other Nordic orchestras. Since 2003 he has been professor of chamber music at the Norwegian Academy of Music. In 1991 Sandbakken was among the founding members of the Oslo String Quartet, which today is regarded as one of the most outstanding and innovative string quartets in northern Europe. The quartet performs regularly at leading European festivals and their recordings of Scandinavian repertoire (Grieg, Sibelius, Stenhammar and contemporary works) for the labels Naxos and CPO have received outstanding reviews in the international press. The quartet s recordings of the Nielsen string quartets were Editors Choice in Gramophone magazine in 1999. Oslo String Quartet is especially dedicated to alternative concert forms. Their children s concerts, where Are Sandbakken has also performed as a singer and actor, have become very popular. In 2006 the quartet celebrated its 15th anniversary with performances of the complete Beethoven string quartets in a series entitled The Beethoven Code. Are Sandbakken plays a viola by Mattio Goffriller of 1729, on loan from Dextra Musica. Tor Espen Aspaas is one of the most distinguished pianists and music communicators of his generation in Norway. In 2006 he was appointed professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music. In addition to his teaching duties, he is presently researching the role of improvisation in the creative processes and works of Beethoven. Aspaas gained his postgraduate soloist s diploma from the Academy in 1996 and gave a critically acclaimed debut recital in Oslo the following year. He has received numerous grants and awards, and he has appeared as soloist with international orchestras, as well as with all major Norwegian symphony orchestras. In 2011 Aspaas gave the first performance of O.A. Thommessen s Third Piano Concerto, commissioned by Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. In addition to recitals and worldwide concert tours, Aspaas is regularly invited to festivals and concert series in Norway and abroad. In the autumn of 2010, Aspaas received attention for his performances of the complete collection of Debussy s 24 Preludes, and in March 2013 he made his US debut with a solo recital at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Tor Espen Aspaas has a comprehensive discography, including critically acclaimed solo CDs of works by Beethoven, Schönberg, Berg and Webern, as well as the complete piano works by Paul Dukas. Aspaas was one of the founders of the Røros Winter Chamber Music Festival and served as its first artistic director from 1999-2008 in addition to programming the festival of 2014.

Berit Cardas Viola The Vertavo Quartet Berit Cardas studied violin with Leif Jørgensen, Oslo, Jens Ellermann in Hannover and with Almita and Roland Vamos in Minneapolis. Other great influences where the string quartet teachers Norbert Brainin and Hatto Beyerle. As a founder member of the Vertavo Quartet, chamber music has always been Cardas musical passion and she has performed in the major halls of America, Europe and Australia. The quartet celebrated 25 years together in 2009. The Vertavo has received several prizes, among them the 1st prize, Audience s prize, Critic s prize and the Radio listener s Award in the Melbourne International Chamber Music competition 1995, as well as 1st prize in the Nordic Chamber Music Competition 1997 and the Grieg Prize of Norway 2005. Cardas has been a leader of the Norwegian Chamber orchestra, and performed as a soloist with major Scandinavian orchestras. She is also a renowned pedagog in and has great success with a chamber music teaching method that includes theatre sport, improvisations and huge amounts of humour. Among Berit Cardas ambitions is letting as many children as possible get the chance to experience music making on a high level. This has led to developing school programs for exercising listening to classical music, as well as gotten her involved in a unique violins for everyone project, with sixty eight year olds playing the violin. Cardas plays a beautiful Lorenzo Storiono violin from around 1770, which is lent to her by Dextra Musica. The Vertavo Quartet is internationally recognised as one of the most masterful string quartets playing today. Since their formation in Norway in 1984, their dynamic and deeply thoughtful performances have captivated audiences. In June 2005, the quartet was honoured with the Grieg-Prize: a prize bestowed on artists of high international standing. Vertavo now play at all the major concert venues in the world. They tour extensively throughout Europe and also in Japan and the US. Their last US tour included performances at Stanford Lively Arts, Chamber Music in Napa Valley and Lincoln Center. In the past year, tours and concerts have also taken them to Norway, Spain, Mexico, Sweden, Poland, the US and the UK. They gave concerts at Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Barbican, London; Kings Place, London and in last year s celebration of Benjamin Britten s centenary, Vertavo were invited to play at the Aldeburgh Festival 2013. Collaboration also plays an integral role in the Vertavo Quartet s concert life; they have formed partnerships with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Leif Ove Andsnes, Lambert Orkis, Steven Kovacevich, Håkan Hardenberger, Martin Fröst, Sabine Meyer, Isabelle van Keulen and Paul Lewis. Vertavo have always had a great affinity for contemporary music. They have given commanding performances of works by Ligeti, Adès, Widmann, Gabriela Frank and works by contemporary Nordic composers such as Nørgård, Edlund and Asheim. In March 2013 to great critical acclaim, they gave the world premiere of Poul Ruders s 4th String Quartet at a major festival of Danish and Finnish composers at the Barbican Hall in London. Vertavo Quartet are Artistic Directors of the Elverum Summer Music Festival in Norway.

Henning Kraggerud Wolfgang Plagge Violin Piano/Composer Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud is an artist of exquisite musicianship, who combines an unusually sweet tone and beauty of expression with impressive virtuosity. Kraggerud performs at a high level throughout Europe and North America, and is increasingly in demand in a play/direct capacity. Highlights of the current season include Kraggerud s debut with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at New York s Carnegie Hall, concerts with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In the UK, Kraggerud tours with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and returns to the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Maintaining a busy diary of European engagements, Kraggerud continues to work extensively in his native Scandinavia where he enjoys special relationships with several of the major orchestras. An experienced chamber musician, Kraggerud s most frequent collaborators include Christian Ihle Hadland, Truls Mørk and Lars Anders Tomter. This season includes a tour of UK and US festivals with Piotr Anderszewski, including recitals at London s Wigmore Hall and New York s Zankel Hall, and an appearance at the Verbier Festival where Kraggerud performs chamber music with Joshua Bell among others. Born in Oslo in 1973, Kraggerud studied with Camilla Wicks, Emanuel Hurwitz and Stephan Barratt-Due. He is a recipient of Norway s prestigious Grieg Prize. In 2007 he was awarded the Sibelius Prize for his interpretations and recording of Sibelius music throughout the world. Henning is a Professor at the Barratt-Due Music Conservatoire in Oslo. From 2011 onwards he is co-sharing the artistic directorship of Norway s Risør Chamber Music Festival. Henning Kraggerud plays on a 1744 Guarneri del Gesu, provided by Dextra Musica. Wolfgang Plagge showed an early interest in classical music, playing the piano and composing from the age of four. At the age of ten he won an international talent competition on British television. He completed his studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg. Wolfgang Plagge is active as a performer all over the world and is a sought-after chamber musician. He has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras and collaborated with many prominent musicians. His first compositions were published when he was 12. Since then he has developed into a mature, original and versatile creative artist with a considerable body of work behind him. His work includes liturgical music, symphonies, chamber music, music for solo piano, and several works for woodwind and brass chamber music ensembles. He has long had a love of the ancient music of Northern Europe, and many of his works have grown out of his researches into early medieval Norwegian music. Ever since his student days, the phenomenon of time has been an important component of his music: observations on and studies of the course of time, manipulation of the sense of time and the use of time as a formal element are essential factors in his creative process. Wolfgang Plagge s music is performed by musicians, ensembles and orchestras all over the world, and his reputation as a composer is steadily growing.

Participating Ensembles ECMA Session 2015 in alphabetical order Boccherini Trio Suyeon Kang Violin Florian Peelman Viola Paolo Bonomini Cello The Boccherini Trio was formed just over a year ago, as a result of various evening sight-reading sessions that frequent the Berlin music scene. Since their formation they have received coaching from Guenter Pichler and Natascha Prischenpenko, and have performed in numerous venues in Europe. Though a fledgling group, the trio has already received magnificent reviews of their performances. As individuals, the musicians of the trio are active in a variety of fields of music, and are passionate in their solistic, chamber and orchestral endeavours. Suyeon Kang is a prizewinner at numerous international violin competitions, and has collaborated with Stephen Isserlis, Christian Teztlaff, etc. She is currently a Konzertexamen student under Antje Weithaas at the Hochschule fuer Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. Florian Peelman is a graduate of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels as well as the Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin, having previously also studied in Finland and England. As a thoroughly sought out chamber musician he has worked with Marie Hallynk, Ronald Brautigham, etc. His orchestral experience includes two years as principal viola of the Brussels Chamber Orchestra, and he substitutes regularly with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Paolo Bonomini has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras. His various chamber music performances has taken him throughout Europe alongside artists such as Giovanni Sollima and Salvatore Accardo. Currently studying under Jens Peter Maintz (Berlin), he was a former student of Antonio Meneses in Bern. He has received the Diploma of merit several times at the Accademia Chigiana summer course in Siena. In 2014 Paolo started a part time collaboration with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.

Hanson Quartet Mettis Quartet Anton Hanson Violin Jules Dussap Violin Gabrielle Lafait Viola Simon Dechambre Cello Kostas Tumosa Violin Bernardas Petrauskas Violin Karolis Rudokas Viola Rokas Vaitkevičius Cello The Hanson Quartet is founded in 2012 by four students of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (CNSMDP). Formed by Anton Hanson, Jules Dussap (violins), Gabrielle Lafait (viola) and Simon Dechambre, they are currently studying in masters under prof. Jean Sulem (Rosamunde Quartet) in Paris, and have attended regularly masterclasses with members of the Ebene quartet, Claire Desert, Christophe Giovaninetti. In 2014, they played with Jean Sulem in quintet, and in festivals of the IRCAM (Institute for Research and Coordination Acoustic/Music) and La Roque d Anthéron where they performed in piano quartet and quintet. The Hanson Quartet is now member of the European Chamber Music Academy since 2014 and residents of the Singer-Polignac Foundation in 2015. Metis is ancient Greek mythological figure, Oceanid from the Titans generation. The Greek word metis meant quality that combined wisdom, cunning and skills. Mettis string quartet was founded in 2011, professors Augustinas Vasiliauskas class of Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LAMT). Mettis regularly participates in masterclasses: ECMA sessions in Vilnius and Grossraming, now Oslo, also ISA 12 and ISA`14 summer academies (Reichenau, Austria). In ISA 12 quartet got awarded Vienna s university of Arts Joseph Haydn institute prize. In 2012 December they have won the 1st place and special prize in XII international Lithuanian chamber music performance competition in Vilnius and also were selected to represent the academy in Harmos 13 festival (Porto, Portugal). In 2013 May Mettis have participated in European Festival of Music Academies (EFAM). In 2013 June quartet was invited to take part in 49th Chamber music festival of Plovdiv (Bulgaria). In 2014 August they took part in ISA 14 masterclasses where they got awarded two prizes chamber music and Gottfried von Einem foundation prize for outstanding interpretation of composers string quartet. Since 2014 September Mettis are members of ECMA.

Munich ARTISTrio Polychord Quartet Matjaž Bogataj Violin Maruša Bogataj Cello Katharina Khodos Piano Mateusz Smól Violin I Dmitry Serebrennikov Violin II Vladimir Paulen Viola Eric Abeijón Cello Munich ARTISTrio is an ensemble founded by pianist Katharina Khodos (Ukraine/Germany) and Slovenian siblings Maruša and Matjaž Bogataj. Upon successful completion of solo master studies, they finished their chamber music master degree in July 2014 under the guidance of Michael Schäfer (piano) and Wen-Sinn Yang (cello), at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München with highest distinction. They recorded Ravel s Trio in A Minor for RTV Slovenia, and Bavarian national radio recorded their live concerts of Ravel, Brahms (B-major) and Schubert s Piano Trio in B-flat major. At the 14th competition ACM Trio di Trieste in September 2013, Munich ARTISTrio was the only piano trio in the finals and eventually won the 2. prize. The trio is also member of the foundation LIVE MUSIC NOW in Munich. The trio regularly elaborates and works with renowned musicians such as Bruno Canino, Ana Chumachenko, Silvia Marcovici, Friedemann Berger. The group has so far given concerts in Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Polychord Quartet was found in 2014 by students of Hochschule der Künste Bern in Switzerland. Although all four members come from different countries (Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Spain) and different musical environments, their mutual passion to chamber music has resulted in forming a new string quartet. Each one of them has a great experience in performing chamber music on stage. For the last five years all of the members of Polychord Quartet have worked with each other on many occasions in several formations but it was not until the last year when they have decided to create a string quartet together. Their common devotion to chamber music has already resulted in very successful performances in Switzerland.

Quartetto Testosterone Trio ClariNord Daniel Lyngstad Violin Sondre Fjose Sandberg Violin Jakob Dingstad Viola Sverre Barratt-Due Cello Emilio Borghesan Clarinet Paula Cuetta Cello Jie Zhang Piano Quartetto Testosterone is a string quartet based at The Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. After its foundation in 2008, the quartet has specialized in playing works by twentieth-century composers. In addition to this the quartet also frequently performs traditional quartet repertoire. The quartet has studied with prof. of chamber music at The Norwegian Academy of Music, Are Sandbakken (Oslo String Quartet), in addition to lessons with amongst others Lars Anders Tomter and Andrew Manze. Quartetto Testosterone has since 2013 participated in ECMA-sessions in Oslo, Vienna and Fiesole and received valuable input from teachers such as Hatto Beyerle, Johannes Meissl, Avedis Kouyoumdjian, Ferenc Rados and Shmuel Ashkenasi. The quartet has in recent years performed at scenes and festivals such as Oslo Quartet Series, Harmos festival (Portugal) and Risør Chamber Music Festival. In 2011, QT was awarded 1st prize in the Norwegian National Youth Music Competition. The quartet has cooperated in concert with musicians and composers from different genres including Tor Espen Aspaas, Håvard Gimse, Stian Carstensen and Morten Gaathaug. The quartet has also had an active collaboration with composition students at the Norwegian Academy of Music. The members study for their Master s degrees at The Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen, Edsberg Manor, Stockholm and the Norwegian Academy of Music. Formed in 2012, Trio ClariNord is a clarinet trio consisting of clarinetist Emilio Borghesan, cellist Paula Cuesta, and pianist Jie Zhang. Trio ClariNord is the first chamber music group with a wind player to be accepted to the European Chamber Music Academy. ClariNord has studied with renowned pedagogues Hatto Beyerle, Johannes Meissl, Avedis Kouyoumdjian, Ferenc Rados, Per Lundberg, Are Sandbakken and Håvard Gimse. Trio ClariNord is working actively with contemporary composers to expand the repertoire for clarinet trio. Our two first commissions are from the leading Norwegian composers Jon Øivind Ness and Gisle Kverndokk. Trio ClariNord performs frequently in Norway and abroad. In 2014-2015, the trio has played concerts in Norway, Austria, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic and in Wigmore Hall in London. In spring 2015 Trio ClariNord will record a cd of music by Beethoven, Frühling, and Ness with LAWO Classics. The three members of Trio ClariNord are all current students or alumni of the Norwegian Academy of Music. Clarinetist Emilio Borghesan came to Norway in 2011 and has played frequently with the Oslo Philharmonic. Pianist Jie Zhang has performed with all the major symphonies in Norway, and in 2010 she was the first foreigner to win the Princess Astrid Music Prize. Cellist Paula Cuesta has participated in the Verbier Music Festival, and she won first prize in the Alexander and Buono International String Competition and subsequently performed in Carnegie Hall.

ECMA - The European Spirit The Norwegian Academy of Music ECMA - European Chamber Music Academy - is recognized as the number one talent factory for European chamber music ensembles. ECMA is dedicated to promoting young, aspiring, elite ensembles, thus promoting the tradition and development of European chamber music. It has charitable status and its activities are non-profit-making. ECMA was founded in 2004 on the initiative of Hatto Beyerle. It is an association of European music universities, conservatoires and festivals which work together to provide on-going training for chamber music ensembles. Within this program the partner institutions host regular week-long sessions. Renowned tutors work intensively with ensembles who receive guidance and inspiration for their artistic work. ECMA also holds lectures and focus workshops in, for example, cultural history and historical performance, practice and philosophy. Furthermore ECMA naturally develops new networks by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. ecma-music.com The Norwegian Academy of Music, based in Oslo, offers the highest level of education for performers and composers, pedagogues and music therapists and is an artistic and creative centre providing research within various fields of music. The Academy offers a variety of high quality courses at all levels and is Oslo s biggest concert producer presenting approximately 400 concerts a year. The Norwegian Academy of Music is a specialised university with 600 students, and offers both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. We have a permanent staff of 130 teachers, both academic and artistic, and a number of auxiliary part-time teachers. The Academy has 15 research fellow positions and in addition admits candidates with external funding. The Academy has 9 artistic research fellows at present. nmh.no facebook.com/musikkhogskolen twitter.com/musikkhogskolen

ECMA Partners Austria - Vienna - mdw - Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Austria - Grafenegg - Grafenegg Kulturbetriebsgesellschaft m.b.h. France - Paris - Conservatoire national supérieur de musique Italy - Fiesole - Scuola di Musica di Fiesole Fondazione Onlus Lithuania - Vilnius - Lietuvos muzikos ir teatro akademija Norway - Oslo - Norges musikkhøgskole Switzerland - Bern - Hochschule der Künste United Kingdom - Manchester - Royal Northern College of Music Cooperating partners Austria - Großraming - Europäisches Kulturforum Großraming Austria - Horn - Allegro Vivo Kammermusik Festival Austria - Vienna - isa - International Summer Academy of the mdw France - Prades - Festival Pablo Casals United Kingdom - London - Wigmore Hall Session Organizers Coordinator: Ellen Haldar eh@nmh.no +47 23 36 70 75 (mobile) +47 995 21 343 Artistic Director: Are Sandbakken as@nmh.no +47 23 36 70 00 Norwegian Academy of Music Slemdalsveien 11 PB 5190, Majorstua NO-0302 OSLO +47 23 36 70 00 post@nmh.no nmh.no