The Norwegian Soloists' Choir
Grete Pedersen, conductor
Richard Strauss: German Motet op. 62
Edvard Grieg: 2 Psalms
Johann Christian Bach: Motets
3 Norwegian Folksongs
contemporary norwegian work
J.S. Bach: Motet O Jesu Christ, mein's Lebens Licht
J.S. Bach: Motet Singet dem Herrn
J.S. Bach: Cantata 29 Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir
in combination with parts of:
Francis Poulenc: Figure humaine and Norwegian Folksongs
J.S. Bach: Motet Singet dem Herrn
Best of Norwegian Church Music
Francis Poulenc: Figure humaine
Grete Pedersen Conductor
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’, ‘Prix d'Or’ from Diapason and a 'Record of the year’ by Gramophone. In September 2022 she has been appointed as Artistic Director of the Carmel Bach Festival, USA, for five years.
She lately took part in the project The Nordic Choir Expedition with her choir together with Ars Nova Copenhagen, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir and Helsinki Chamber Choir featuring the first performance of Galina Grigorjeva: Between the Earth and Skies and with music by Werle, Strauss, Taube, Janson, Melläs, Nyström, Martland, Eriksson in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki and Oslo.
Forthcoming highlights include engagements with the Rundfunkchor Berlin, Slovenian Philharmonic & Choir (Brahms: Requiem) and concerts with The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir at festivals in Sion and Merano, apart from her commitments at Carmel Bach Festival 2023 with Mahler: Symphony No. 4, Karin Rehnqvist: Breaking the Ice from Arktis Arktis!, Haydn: The Creation among others.
Grete Pedersen is a demanded guest conductor and has worked with choirs and orchestras such as Eric Ericson Kammerchor, Swedish Radio Choir, Danish National Vocal Ensemble & Choir, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, NDR Vokalensemble Hamburg, MDR Radio Choir Leipzig, Netherlands Chamber Choir, Netherlands Radio Choir, Chamber Choir Ireland, Dunedin Consort, Pro Coro Canada etc.
She has led oratorios and choral symphonic works by J.S. Bach, Haydn, Bruckner, Bernstein and Berio with leading Norwegian orchestras, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Slovenian Philharmonic, Yale Camerata, Oslo Sinfonietta, Ensemble Allegria and Gulbenkian Orchestra & Choir.
BIS Records has released numerous award-winning recordings by Grete Pedersen and the Norwegian Soloists Choir with works by Per Norgard, Kaija Saariaho, Fartein Valen, Alfred Janson, Knut Nystedt, Nils Henrik Asheim, Lars Petter Hagen, Edvard Grieg, Iannis Xenakis, Helmut Lachenmann, Alban Berg, Olivier Messiaen, Anton Webern, Brahms, Schubert, J.S. Bach and Norwegian Folk Music. Her albums of Luciano Berio: Coro and J.S. Bach: Motets were awarded the Diapason d’Or in the years 2020 and 2018. Grete Pedersen and The Norwegian Soloists' Choir lately received the renowned Spellermann Prize for their album Lament (compositions by Lars Petter Hagen, Nils Henrik Asheim and Arne Nordheim) on BIS Records. The latest album release was in 2023 with Bent Sorensen: Matthew Passion with Ensemble Allegria and The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir.
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.
At the start of her musical studies, Grete Pedersen founded the Oslo Chamber Choir in 1984 and worked with them for 20 years particularly with oratorio repertoire and contemporary music. She studied Norwegian folk music and has learnt from folk musicians and their traditions. Today she is considered a pioneer for her work bringing folk music to new settings and for the arrangements based on these roots. This is notwithstanding always challenging the tradition. As a church musician educated at the Norwegian Academy of Music, Grete Pedersen was a part of the movement of historical informed performances from the beginning of the 1980s and has worked amongst others with the Freiburger Barockorchester, Oslo Bach Ensemble, Norwegian Barokkanerne, Barokksolistene, Drottningholm Barokkensemble.
On the contemporary scene Grete Pedersen is known as an unafraid advocate for new music and has commissioned and performed numerous pieces by leading composers. One example is Bach in our time– a project over three years where composers James MacMillan, Lasse Thoresen, and Stefan Schleiermacher composed new music in dialogue with Bach’s B minor Mass.
In 2019, Grete Pedersen was appointed Knight 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian St. Olavs Order for her merit and outstanding achievements in the arts and was awarded the distinguished Lindeman Prize to honour her significant contribution to the musical life of Norway.
She teaches as a professor in conducting at the Norwegian State Academy of Music since 1996 and is a sought-after teacher for masterclasses.
Season 2023/24
The Norwegian Soloists' Choir
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 22 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. Since 2019 Yuval Weinberg is principal guest conductor of The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir.
The choir has a number of critically acclaimed albums for BIS Records and distinctions to its credit. 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.
Grete Pedersen and The Norwegian Soloists' Choir lately received the renowned Spellermann Prize (Norwegian equivalent to Grammy Award) for their album Lament (compositions by Lars Petter Hagen, Nils Henrik Asheim and Arne Nordheim) on BIS Records. The latest album release was in 2023 with Bent Sorensen: Matthew Passion with Ensemble Allegria and The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir.
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 introduced 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.
Season 2023/24
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