Björn Nyman is one of the leading clarinetists of his generation in the Nordic region and a sought-after chamber musician and soloist. He is principal clarinetist with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.
Nyman was a prizewinner in two of the most prestigious international competitions for clarinetists: the ARD Competition in Munich in 2003 and the Carl Nielsen competition in Odense in 2005. In both competitions he was also awarded the prize for best interpretation of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto. Nyman won shared first prize at the International Crusell Clarinet Competition in 2002 as well as the ConocoPhillipps Prize the same year.
Björn Nyman has been a soloist with several orchestras including the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra.
Nyman is an active chamber musician and has played in many of the leading festivals in Scandinavia. At the age of 19 he was appointed his first position as principal clarinetist with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra. He has also been principal clarinetist in the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra under conductors such as Pierre Boulez and Claudio Abbado. He has studied with Hans Christian Bræin and Leif Arne Pedersen at the Norwegian Academy of Music where he teaches today, as well as with Yehuda Gilad of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

The Norwegian Radio Orchestra is known as “the whole land’s orchestra” and is today regarded with a unique combination of re­spect and affection by its music-loving public. With its remarkably diverse repertoire, this is no doubt the orchestra most heard through­out the land – on the radio, television, and online, and at various diverse venues around the country.
It is a flexible orchestra, performing all from symphonic and contemporary classical mu­sic to pop, rock, folk, and jazz. Each year the orchestra performs together with internation­ally acclaimed artists at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, which is aired to millions of viewers worldwide. Those with whom the orchestra has collaborated in recent years include the Kaizers Orchestra, Mari Boine, Jarle Bern­hoft, Diamanda Galàs, Renée Fleming, An­drew Manze, Anna Netrebko, and Gregory Porter.
The Norwegian Radio Orchestra was found­ed by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corpora­tion in 1946. Its first conductor, Øivind Bergh, led the ensemble in a series of concerts from the broadcasting company’s main studio, es­tablishing the basis of its popularity and se­curing its status as a national treasure. The orchestra continues to perform in the context of important media events. It is comprised of highly talented classical instrumentalists and yet its musical philosophy has remained the same: versatility, a light-hearted approach, curiosity for all kinds of music, and an un­willingness to pigeonhole musical styles. Petr Popelka is currently the orchestra’s Chief Conductor.

The Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård (b. 1969) arrived on the classical music scene as a sensation in 2005 when he conducted the opera “Kafka’s Trial” of his fellow countryman Poul Ruders. Four years later he became Chief Conductor and artistic consultant of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (2009–2012). He went directly from there to become Chief Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales for six seasons. At the time of writing he is artistic director for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In addition to his positions of leadership during these ten years, he has been a much sought-after conductor for the world’s leading orchestras. With his confident style, breadth of perspective and unfailing sense of detail, he has command of the great symphonic classics, yet he has at the same time been highly successful with the very latest contemporary works (confirmed by earlier Norwegian Radio Orchestra releases on the LAWO Classics label). Dating back as far as his time as timpanist with the Royal Danish Orchestra, Søndergård has had a special fondness for incidental music and opera, and he is in frequent demand as conductor for the leading opera stages, including the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet.