Kenneth Karlsson was born in Åmål, Sweden. He started out playing impro/rock with a few friends in his youth. He went on to develop an interest in classi­cal music, and after a few years he became a student at the Music Academy in Oslo, followed by further studies in the Netherlands. Since then Karlsson has been active as a pianist specializing in the areas of contemporary and classical music, and improvisation. During the 1980s and 90s he was a member of groups such as Ensemble K4, Oslo Sinfonietta and Aquari­us, and has collaborated with mezzo-soprano Hilde Torgersen for more than 20 years. He has also played in various improvisation groups over the years, in­cluding the quartet Point 4 with Jon Balke, Ingar Zach and Bjørn Rabben.
Since 1989 Kenneth Karlsson has been pianist and artistic director of Cikada, and is still active in several smaller ensembles. He has toured all over the world and recorded several albums. In 2001 he received a Spellemannpris (Norwegian Grammy) for his solo album sofferte onde serene, and in 2005 Karlsson’s ensemble Cikada was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize.
Karlsson has worked with video, dance, multime­dia and is responsible for a considerable number of commissioned works and premier performances. He has collaborated with other musicians and compos­ers including Klaus Lang, Clara Ianotta, James Dillon, Christian Wallumrød, Carola Bauckholt, Liza Lim, Bent Sørensen, Richard Barrett, Lasse Marhaug, Elisabeth Holmertz, and Rolf Wallin. In addition to the piano, Kenneth Karlsson plays Indian harmonium and syn­thesizer.

Hilde Torgersen was a pianist from a young age, but when applying to the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo she was surprised to be accepted for her singing. Though she did apply for both, she had only recently started focusing on her singing, and a whole new world opened up for her. After completing her master’s degree in 1984, she began working as a freelance musician, which included Swedish contemporary group Aquarius, as well as playing baroque music with Rolf Lislevann. In the 1990s, she worked closely with the ensemble Cikada, the Oslo Sinfonietta and formed the Cikada Trio with Bjørn Rabben on percussion and Kenneth Karlsson on piano. She has been a soloist with several Scandinavian orchestras, worked with multimedia and video, made films, recorded several albums and toured the world.
Torgersen has premiered several works. She has toured with major works such as Circles by Berio, Indianerlieder (American Indian Songs) by Stockhausen, as well as Giacinto Scelsi’s vocal music. Even as early as her years at the Academy she toured Schönberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, which she also took for her master’s exam. Torgersen has worked closely with composers such as Alessandro Vinao, Rolf Wallin, Arne Nordheim, James Clark, James Dillon, premiering Dillon’s major work L’évolution du vol and recording several of his pieces.
Her collaboration with Kenneth Karlsson also began at the Norwegian Academy of Music, initially with classical music before moving towards contemporary music. They have performed concerts both as a duo and with various chamber music ensembles. Together they’ve received several commissions.
In 2004, Torgersen was involved in a car crash and has found it challenging to continue performing on stage, and since then has focused mainly on her work as a singing teacher.