OLA ASDAHL ROKKONES – ALTO SAXOPHONE Ola Asdahl Rokkones (b. 1983) is one of few saxophonists working within the fields of both classical music and jazz. He has studied with several acclaimed teachers including Lars Lien, Vibeke Breian, Jean-Yves Fourmeau and John-Pål Inderberg. In 2012 he received the culture prize of Tromsø Municipality, and in 2018 he was the laureate of the artist grant of the Troms region. In 2019 he was selected as one of the four recipients of the Barents Scholarship, “for valuable and outstanding contribution to the cultural life and cooperation across borders in the Barents Region”. In 2022 he was awarded an artist grant from Ingerid, Synnøve og Elias Fegerstens Stiftelse.
As a classical musician, he has appeared as a soloist with several orchestras in Norway, Russia, Germany and France, among them Arktisk Filharmoni, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mariinsky Symphonic Orchestra. With various constellations he has toured internationally, and performed in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, France, Austria, Russia, Poland, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Turkey, and Brazil. He has commissioned and premiered music by numerous composers, such as Alexander Aarøen, Alexander Manotskov, Terje Bjørklund, Agnes Ida Pettersen, Tine Surel Lange, Herborg Rundberg, Rakel Nystabakk, Helge Iberg, Kjell Habbestad, Martin Romberg, Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen, Erik Stifjell, Lars Skoglund, Håvard Lund, Bodvar Drotninghaug Moe, and Bjørn Breimo.
His discography includes eleven releases of various genres, including the albums Trio Brax (LWC1248) with Julia Neher and Sergej Osadchuk, and Norwegian Saxophone (LWC1162) with Fabio Mastrangelo and the St. Petersburg Northern Sinfonia.
Ola Asdahl Rokkones is an endorsed artist and official ambassador of Henri Selmer Paris Saxophones.