Henrik Hellstenius (born 1963), a Norwegian composer, studied composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music and with Gérard Grisey at Conservatoire Supérieur.
Hellstenius’s output encompasses a large range of works: chamber music, orchestral works, opera, electro-acoustic music and music for theatre and dance. His music has been performed frequently at concerts and festivals around the world by ensembles and musicians such as Cikada, BIT20, Oslo Sinfonietta, Court Circuit, Irvine Arditti, Peter Herresthal, asamisimasa, Hans Kristian Kjos Sørensen, Ensemble El Perro Andaluz, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Stavanger Philharmonic Orchestra.
His first opera, Sera, received the Norwegian Edvard Award in 2000, and has been staged in Oslo and Warsaw. His second opera, Ophelias: Death by Water Singing, premiered in Oslo in 2005 and was staged in Warsaw, Oslo and Osnabrück, Germany. It was recorded in 2014 and released on the LAWO Classics label in 2016 (LWC1098). In 2022 he received a Spellemann Award (Norway’s Grammy) as ‘Composer of the Year’ for the release Past & Presence, also on the LAWO Classics label (LWC1229).
Hellstenius has been composer in residence with the Bergen International Festival 2011, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra 2013/2014, and the June in Buffalo Festival 2017.
In recent years Hellstenius has focused on the musical relationship between sound, words and movement in its many forms, ranging from staged concerts and performance works to musical theatre pieces. He is at present conducting an artistic research project, ‘Extended Compositon’, where he focuses on the possibilities in composition with movement, sound and language.
Hellstenius is also a professor of composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo and has been a guest teacher of composition at festivals, conservatories and universities in Germany, the USA, Austria, France and the Nordic countries.

Since its formation in Oslo in 1989, the Cikada Ensemble has developed a refined and highly acclaimed profile on the international contemporary music scene. From the very beginning, Cikada has consisted of flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, string quintet and conductor Christian Eggen. All ten are equal, permanent members, and the ensemble has become synonymous with the Oslo Sound of fresh, vibrant, warm and virtuosic interpretations of consciously selected, contemporary repertoire.
In concerts at major international festivals and on numerous albums, Cikada’s distinct ensemble profile manifests itself in strong programming. Integral to this work is a wish to develop long-term collaborations with composers and to build composer portraits with commissioned works over time.
The nine musicians also form various formations within the group: Cikada String Quartet and Cikada Trio (flute, clarinet, piano) work as independent Cikada units, adding to the ensemble’s international identity.
Cikada was awarded the prestigious Nordic Music Prize in 2005.

Conductor, composer, and pianist Christian Eggen (b. 1957) is one of the most influential figures on the Norwegian music scene. His field of expertise ranges from contemporary music via genre-merging projects, installations, television and radio drama productions to film, theatre, jazz, opera, and classical music.
As a conductor, he is known as one of Europe’s finest interpreters of contemporary music and has worked closely with composers such as Morton Feldman, John Cage, and Helmut Lachenmann. As a conductor of the Ny Musikk Ensemble, The Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and later as permanent conductor and artistic director of Cikada and Oslo Sinfonietta, he has developed Norwegian sinfonietta repertoire since the early eighties and regularly appears on the European contemporary music scene with groups such as the Ensemble MusikFabrik and Ensemble InterContemporain. He has worked with many orchestras including the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala in Milan, and the Royal Philharmonic in London.
He has written music for a vast range of formations and settings. His first opera, Franz Kafka Pictures, received its complete world premiere at the Norwegian National Opera in the autumn of 2013. Sections of the opera have been performed since 2009. As a pianist, Eggen is internationally renowned for his interpretations of Mozart and Carl Nielsen, the latter presented on the recording Carl Nielsen: Piano Music on the Victoria label.
Christian Eggen has collaborated on a multitude of recordings within all aspects of his faceted musical career. He was the Festival Artist of the Year at the Bergen International Festival in 2007 and was appointed Commander of The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav for his contribution to contemporary music in Norway and abroad.

Tora Augestad’s versatility inspires composers, theatre directors, conductors, and fellow musicians alike. Her vocal capabilities defy easy classification: she is flexible, expressive yet precise, theatrically convincing with a compelling personality. Augestad (b. 1979) sings a broad variety of genres, primarily devoting herself to repertoire of the 20th and 21st centuries. She regularly commissions new works, amongst them a feministic chamber opera by Cecilie Ore that premiered at the Bergen International Festival in 2015. Since 2010 she has collaborated with the Swiss director Christoph Marthaler, spanning opera projects with music by Handel, Verdi, and Beat Furrer, to the playful combination of classical, jazz, cabaret, and pop music in Marthaler's own projects.
Born in Bergen, Norway, she studied classical music and jazz singing in Oslo and Stockholm before graduating with a master’s degree in cabaret singing from the Norwegian Academy of Music. A fascination with German cabaret led her to Berlin where she has resided since 2007. In 2004 she founded the ensemble Music for a While with exquisite performers from the Norwegian music scene. Her ensemble, BOA explores the landscape between avant-garde and pop music. In 2015 she was nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize. In addition, she works closely with the composer and saxophonist Trygve Seim. Since 2014, Tora Augestad is joint artistic director of the Hardanger Musikkfest.
Augestad regularly performs with orchestras such as the Bergen Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Bamberg and NDR Symphony Orchestras, Ensemble Modern, and Klangforum Wien. In 2019 she will make her debut at both the Philharmonie de Paris and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg with a world premiere by Philippe Manoury.

Ebba Rydh (mezzo-soprano) has been working as a freelance singer since graduating in 2003 from The Academy of Opera, with a focus on baroque music and contemporary music. She has participated in a number of music recordings, including Norwegian new music ensembles such as BIT20 and Cikada. Rydh has been a member of the singing sextet Nordic Voices since 2003.

Silje Aker Johnsen is completing a doctorate at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts / Academy of Opera. She has also studied at the Grieg Academy in Bergen, Universität der Künste in Berlin, and she has a Master’s degree in classical singing from the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.
In the autumn of 2017 Aker Johnsen received glowing reviews for her interpretation of the role of Malin in the opera “Ballerina” by Synne Skouen at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. She has made guest concert appearances there in “Ørets teater” by Henrik Hellstenius, in the chamber opera “Simon” by Gerhard Stäbler, in the Norwegian Opera’s ‘5. Rad’ productions, and in “HER” by Erik Dæhlin and Silje Aker Johnsen.
Aker Johnsen has sung the role of Io in “The Io Passion” by Harrison Birthwistle for the Berlin Chamber Opera in Konzerthaus Berlin, and the female lead role in “A Gentle Spirit” by John Tavener with the same company. She has performed at the National Theatre and has appeared as a dancer with the Polish Dance Theatre in “Minus 2” by Ohad Naharin. Roles in choreography concerts include “Thousand Rooms”, with choreography by Gunhild Bjørnsgaard and music by Georges Aperghis.
Silje Aker Johnson has premiered a number of works and has been guest soloist at many festivals, including Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Die Donaueschinger Musiktage, Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival, and the Bergen International Festival. The Norwegian Society of Composers honoured her with its ‘Performer of the Year Award’ in 2013. She is a member of Ensemble neoN, whose debut album won Spellemannprisen (Norway’s Grammy) for 2016 in the category “contemporary”.