Øyvind Bjorå

INTRODUCTION

Øyvind Bjorå is a versatile musician who has gained distinction with his abilities as a conductor and concertmaster. After finishing conducting studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music, he has had a rising career as a conductor and has regularly conducted the symphonic orchestras in Norway – Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger, Kristiansand, the Norwegian National Opera, and the Arctic Philharmonic.

RECENT AND FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS

Øyvind Bjorå’s most recent and future engagements include (among others):

• concerts with Copenhagen Phil in Denmark;
• Beethoven’s Den magiske 7. Symfonien, Symphony No. 5, Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations, a Jubilee concert, and a ‘visual concert’ with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra;
• Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde,  Den Stundesløse (opera in three acts by Edvard Fliflet Bræin), and various concerts with Operaen i Kristiansund;
• Stravinsky’s Firebird (family concert) with Jönköping Sinfonietta;
• Giselle (a Christmas Ballet), Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, and a ballet with the Arctic Philharmonic;
• film concerts and Christmas concerts with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra;
• a Public Wishes concert with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra;
• a Bartok/Prokofiev concert with Barratt-Dues Symfoniorkester;
• a Gala concert with Kongelige norske marines musikkorps.

BIOGRAPHY

In recent years, Øyvind Bjorå has frequently conducted symphony orchestras across Norway, including the Bergen Philharmonic, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, and the Arctic Philharmonic, a.o. He has also had various projects with Kristiansund Opera. Internationally, Bjorå made his debut with the Szczecin Philharmonic in Poland in 2020 and conducted the Copenhagen Phil in Denmark for the first time in 2021. In 2023 he led the Jönköping Sinfonietta in Sweden in one of Igor Stravinsky’s most appreciated musical works, The Firebird.

From 2014 to 2016 Bjorå held the position of Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of one of the Arctic Philharmonic ensembles – the Sinfonietta in Bodø.

Formerly concertmaster of the Trondheim Symphony and Bergen Philharmonic, he has led the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra since 2005. He has appeared as guest leader of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, and several orchestras in Europe. After a concert in Carnegie Hall where he led Bartok’s Divertimento, with Risør Festival Strings, the New York Times wrote: “…I cannot recall a more persuasive account, conducted or otherwise.”