Artistic Director

Since 2016, the Elverum Festival has had the honor and pleasure of having one of the world’s leading trumpeters, and one of Norway’s absolute biggest international stars, Ole Edvard Antonsen, as artistic director of the festival.

The local trumpeter from Vang in the Inland, has been a soloist on major music stages in over 40 countries and has premiered more than 60 major works written especially for him.

Relationship with the Elverum Festival

Antonsen himself has a close relationship with the Elverum Festival, and he had his first festival experience at a young age.
Ole Edvard began playing the trumpet at the age of five, and at the age of ten, his father arranged for him to receive training from trumpeter Harry Kvebæk (one of the founders of the Youth Symphony Orchestra).
It was therefore natural for Ole Edvard and his brothers to be present during the Youth Symphony Orchestra’s rehearsals, and that was how he had his first encounter with the orchestra and the Elverum Festival.
He was a spectator for several years, before he and his youngest brother, aged 14 and 13, were given the honour of being soloists with the Youth Symphony Orchestra during one of the orchestra’s concerts in 1976. Three years later, he and his brother joined the orchestra, where he was again a soloist in 1980.

Antonsen has later been a soloist with the Youth Symphony Orchestra during the Elverum Festival in 1984, 1987 (winner of the Youth Symphony Orchestra Soloist Prize), 1988, 1996, 2003 and 2016.

The role as artistic director

As artistic director, Antonsen has placed emphasis on traditions, while at the same time being concerned with innovation and development. He himself says the following:

I am a wind player myself, and I think that some of the innovations on my part have been to think of chamber music as an expanded concept, but also to work a lot with newer things and crossover. Classical music and the instrument are the starting point for everything I do. I have grown up with many different genres, and I think that there are more people today, both as performers and audiences, who find it exciting to have new sides along with the traditional. I want to “meet the audience”, and my vision is that the audience should be sure that everything we present is of top quality. The audience can come to our concerts with the certainty that they will be presented with something they like, and discover new exciting things.

The trumpeter’s greatest festival moment

Antonsen has many great festival moments, but there is one in particular that stands out:

One of my greatest festival moments, I must say, was sitting in the orchestra, and getting to play Gustav Maler’s Symphony No. 5 as first trumpet in a packed Elverumshall with broadcasts on both radio and TV.

It has also been fun to be able to help “turn around” the negative publicity surrounding the diving tower in Hamar with the festival’s unique sunrise concerts.

Otherwise, it is always very nice to have good audience numbers. It is great that visions work. Here, the audience has accepted it, applauded it and welcomed it with open arms! It is great that we have managed to maintain a tradition, but at the same time have achieved a renewal with chamber musicians who work with several/other genres.

Not least, it is great for a wind player to have had a visit from two of the world’s best brass ensembles, German Brass and Belgian Brass.

Photo: Kim Rognmo