Website: www.ensembleallegria.no

Contact: Maria Eikefet (manager) - maria@ensembleallegria.no // +47 909 57 605

"Although they might have gone under the radar in the UK, Ensemble Allegria have established a status way beyond their native Norway. (…) The Britten is a version to rank with the finest, and the sheer immediacy of the sound ensures an engrossing listen by any standards. Do listen to it."

Gramophone Magazine on the recording Britten/Hagen/Strauss (2022)

Allegria (ital.) means a merriment and enjoyment, and indeed it was the pleasure of playing together that led a group of young string players to establish our orchestra back in 2007. Ensemble Allegria is considered among Norway’s leading music ensembles and are known for combining high artistic quality with spontaneity and flexibility. In 2012, Allegria was the first ensemble to ever receive the Equinor Classical Talent Award of 1 million NOK.

"Ensemble Allegria radiates an alert musicality that creates an ensemble playing with nerve and intensity".

-Leif Ove Andsnes - Head of the jury for the Equinor Talent Award, 2012

Through the past 16 years, artistic leader and concert master Maria Angelika Carlsen has developed a distinguished ensemble sound, filled with musical elegance, humor and playfulness. Our chamber music skills are highlighted by the fact that we usually play without a conductor - and even without sheet music whenever we can!

Through more than 500 concerts and 11 recordings, Ensemble Allegria has built a solid repertoire, ranging from medieval composers like Hildegard von Bingen, via the grand old masters from the classical and romantic eras and the 20th century to leading contemporary composers, like Karin Rehnqvist (SE), Britta Byström (SE), Anna Berg (NO), Lars Petter Hagen (NO), Bent Sørensen (DK) and Kristine Tjøgersen (NO).

"Excellent balance between reflection and vitality characterizes one of our best ensembles. An orchestra like this, alive, independent and reflective, is a gift.”

Emil Bernhardt, Morgenbladet (NO)

Ensemble Allegria regularly appears at festivals like Bergen International Festival, Ultima Contemporary Music Festival, Oslo Chamber Music Festival, Fjord Classics, Oslo International Church Music Festival and Rosendal Chamber Music Festival. We have visited Geizeitenkonzerte Ostfriesenland twice, and in January 2024, Ensemble Allegria was the residence orchestra at the prestigous Cartagena Music Festival in Cartagena, Colombia, co-programmed by Harrison-Parrott Management.

We have had the pleasure of collaborating with a great number of world class soloists, like Tine Thing Helseth (trumpet), Truls Mørk (cello), Kathryn Stott (piano), Martin Fröst (clarinet), Marianna Shirinyan (piano), Lawrence Power (viola), Benjamin Schmid (violin), Eldbjørg Hemsing (violin), Ragnhild Hemsing (violin), Marianne Beate Kielland (mezzo soprano), Nikita Boriso-Glebsky (violin), Olli Mustonen (piano), Santiago Canyon Valencia (cello), Malin Broman (violin), Andreas Borregaard (accordion), Sonoko Miriam Welde (violin), Gjermund Larsen (fiddle) and Amalie Stalheim (cello)

We have a special passion for bringing our music to broader audiences, and over the years, Ensemble Allegria has been doing a number of outreach projects. Out latest outreach production is a 30 minute long performance, where we present snippets from pieces by Tchaikovsky, Biber, Adams, Grieg, Bartók and Vivaldi with a sprinkle of AURORA, Sigrid, KYGO and Pharell Williams. Performed by 17 musicians with choreographic elements, this production has been a great success among audiences ranging from kindergarten to high school students. The performance is sometimes expanded with a workshop where the audience can learn more about the orchestra, our instruments, and how they work together, as well as a mini conducting master class where everyone in the audience can participate.

In May 2024, we will take this production a step further, by approaching a number of schools, kindergartens, nursery homes, workplaces and other official venues in the suburban area of Holmlia in Oslo.

Over the past 10 years, Ensemble Allegria has built a special relation with the Norwegian Soloist’s Choir and conductor Grete Pedersen. Together, we have performed and recorded works by Knut Nystedt (NO), Karin Rehnqvist (SE), Nils Henrik Asheim (NO), Bent Sørensen (DK), as well as great classics by Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Fauré, Brahms and Beethoven and a number of arranged Norwegian folk tunes. Our recordings have received Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammys), Diapason d’Or l’Année and our first performance of Bent Sørensen’s St. Matthew Passion received the Norwegian Critics’ Award in 2022.