Ingar Bergby

INTRODUCTION

Norwegian conductor Ingar Bergby is the great generalist of Norwegian music, leading performances of everything from symphonic repertoire, opera, and ballet to contemporary works to military band music and crossover music. He specializes in Norwegian and Nordic music, both classical and contemporary, and has made several important recordings in this field. His many years of collaboration with composer Arne Nordheim provided great inspiration for his shaping of contemporary music.

RECENT AND FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS

Ingar Bergby’s most recent and future engagements include:

• Sæverud’s Piano Concerto, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, the Nobel Peace Prize Concert (2024), concerts and several crossover productions, as well as a concert in Oslo Spektrum and several TV and audio recordings with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK);
• Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8, a young audience concert project in March 2024 (which received the YAMaward), and more concerts with the Oslo Philharmonic;
• concerts with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra (including three Gala concerts with soloists, the Kirsten Flagstad Opera Gala in June 2024, a.o.);
• Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra;
• a Brahms & Stravinsky concert with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (jump-in for Marc Soustrot) as well as a recording (composer Paul Okkenhaug);
• concerts with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra;
• two concerts featuring Sæverud’s symphonies, John Williams film concerts, and the premiere of Håkon Berge’s Telavågtragedien, a cantata for winds, choir, and soloists at the Bergen International Festival in May 2024, with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra;
• Ørjan Matre and Lasse Thoresen’s works with soloist Berit Opheim with the BIT20 Ensemble at the Kody Festival in Poland (May 2023);
• premiered two pieces by Swedish contemporary composers, City Imprints by Torstensson and Spår Vägar by af Malmborg Ward with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (December 2023)
• a conductor-in-residence at the 2024 Cartagena Music Festival, leading four concerts featuring Finnish and Norwegian repertoire with the Bogotá Philharmonic, Ensemble Allegria, pianist Olli Mustonen, and violinists Eldbjørg Hemsing and Nikita Boriso-Glebsky;
• Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring with the Wind Ensemble at the Norwegian Music Academy;
• the opening concert for the H.C. Andersen Festival (2024) with the Odense Symphony Orchestra;
• an Opera Gala at Operafest Røykenvik;
• various concerts with the Norwegian military bands in Oslo, Bergen, Harstad and Horten, including (a.o.): Marcus Paus’ The War Cross with the Norwegian Navy Band (Bergen).

BIOGRAPHY

Ingar Bergby attended the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, studying clarinet with Richard Kjelstrup. After graduating, he switched to conducting studies with Karsten Andersen at the Norwegian Academy of Music and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Jorma Panula. He completed his diploma exam in orchestra conducting at the Norwegian Academy of Music in 1991.

In 1992 he landed posts as the chief conductor of Opera Vest (now the Bergen National Opera) and of the contemporary music ensemble BIT20, where he stayed until 2001. During these years he did a wide range of concerts in Norway, and tours in England, Germany, France, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland, as well as several recordings. Among his productions here were The Fall of the House of Usher by Philip Glass, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Michael Nyman, The Glass Menagerie by Antonio Bibalo, and Nokon kjem til å komme by Knut Vaage.

From 1999 to 2006, Bergby was chief conductor of the Värmland Opera and Värmland Sinfonietta. Here he did among others Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Bizet’s Carmen, Verdi’s Nabucco and Un ballo in Maschera, Puccini’s Tosca, Beethoven’s Fidelio, and Shostakovich’ Lady Macbeth.

With The Norwegian Opera and Ballet, he has among others done Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins, Bibalo’s The Glass Menagerie, several contemporary ballets, and 200 performances of The Nutcracker.

In 2003, he became the first guest conductor of the Norwegian Wind Ensemble and permanent guest conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic, with responsibility for Norwegian and other Nordic repertoire. In addition to Norwegian contemporary music, he performed classic Norwegian works by Svendsen, Tveitt, Grieg, Hovland, and Halvorsen there. He also performed international symphonic repertoire such as Sibelius, Nielsen, Ravel, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Nørgaard, and Pettersson.

Bergby was chief conductor of the Royal Norwegian Marines Band from 2008-2014 and moved to a similar position with the Norwegian Navy Band from 2015-2020. From 2025 he will be 1. guest conductor of the Norwegian Army Band in Harstad.

Bergby has since 1993 had a close collaboration with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK), with several engagements annually where he has conducted a wide range of concerts, TV- and radio productions, with symphonic repertoire as well as crossover music. He received the KORK-award in 2010 for a cycle of Brahms’ symphonies.

In the crossover genre, he has also conducted several musical productions, including West Side Story in 2012 and Sound of Music in 2016.

Bergby has throughout his career made guest conducting appearances regularly with all the major Norwegian orchestras, such as the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwegian Opera, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK).
He also guests many of the Nordic orchestras, such as the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Gothenburg Opera.

Bergby has also conducted in Iceland and continental Europe, and in January 2024 he was the conductor in residence at the Cartagena Music Festival in Colombia, where he performed Finnish and Norwegian repertoire together with Bogota Philharmonic, Ensemble Allegria, and pianist Olli Mustonen and violinists Eldbjørg Hemsing and Nikita Boriso-Glebsky.

Ingar Bergby is recognized for the efficient and thorough way he works to shape the music and bring out the best in any orchestra. He conducts with a zeal that rubs off on the musicians, and his musical interpretations are known for their clarity, precision, and emotional depth.

HONOURS

• 2024 – YAMawards (Young Audiences Music) for Best Large Ensemble with Oslo Philharmonic
• 2010 – Named Performer of the Year by the Norwegian Composers’ Association
• 2010 – KORK prize in the category established artist/conductor of the Broadcasting Orchestra
• 2006 – Spellemannprisen to Grex Vocalis and KORK with conductor Ingar Bergby
• 1998 – Østfold Energy Culture Award
• 1993 – Coop Culture Prize
• 1993 – Named Performer of the Year together with BIT20 by the Norwegian Composers’ Association