Ensemble 96 is a Norwegian

chamber choir A chamber choir is a small or medium-sized choir of roughly 8 to 40 singers (occasionally called 'chamber singers'), typically singing classical or religious music in a concert setting. (This is distinct from e.g. a church choir, which sings in rel ...

located in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. The choir works mainly with contemporary music and is partly funded by government grants. It has released several CDs, and given concerts and participated in national and international choral competitions. Ensemble 96 has just under 30 members. Ensemble 96 was founded in 1996, and had its beginnings in the (now defunct) Oslo Philharmonic Chamber Choir. The current conductor is Nina T. Karlsen. The founding conductor was

Øystein Fevang Øystein Fevang (born December 25, 1963) is a Norwegian singer and choir conductor. He conducts the Oslo Philharmonic Choir. He studied singing and conducting at the music conservatory in Oslo and at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Fevang conducte ...

. Ensemble 96's CD "Immortal Nystedt", published on the label 2L, was nominated for the 49th

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in the categories Best Choral Performance and Best Surround Album. The choir was awarded The Norwegian Choir Association's Choral Award for 2007.

First productions and commissioned works

Antonio Bibalo Antonio Gino Bibalo (18 January 1922 – 20 June 2008) was an Italian-Norwegian pianist and composer of contemporary classical music, primarily operas. Biography Bibalo was born in Trieste and studied piano at the conservatory there. His path to ...

: ''Psalm 8'', November 2006 *

Jon Balke Jon Georg Balke (born 7 June 1955) is a Norwegian jazz pianist who leads the Magnetic North Orchestra. He is the younger brother of saxophonist Erik Balke. Career Balke started playing classical piano but switched to blues at 12, though he pe ...

: ''Palabras sueltas'', Kongsberg Jazz Festival 2006 * Kjell Mørk Karlsen: ''O magnum mysterium'', 2005 * Synne Skouen: ''En spøk'' (''In Jest''), 2005 *

Knut Nystedt Knut Nystedt (3 September 1915 – 8 December 2014) was a Norwegian orchestral and choral composer. Early life Nystedt was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, and grew up in a Christian home where hymns and classical music were an important ...

: ''Jesu Sieben Worte'', 2003 * Stephen Frost: ''Parapraxis'', in cooperation with Norwegian bassoonist Sigyn Birkeland, 2003 *

Wolfgang Plagge Wolfgang Plagge (born 23 August 1960 in Oslo, Norway by Dutch parents) is a Norwegian composer and pianist. Biography Plagge started playing the piano as four years old, and made a sensational recital debut in the University Hall in Oslo, only ...

: ''Salve Crux'', 2002 *

: ''Psalm 84'', 2001 * Trond Lindheim: wedding cantata ''Hjelp, de gifter seg!'' (''Oh my, they are getting married!'') on the Norwegian national broadcasting company (

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

TV) during the wedding of Crown Prince Haakon and Miss Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in 2001 *

: ''Liknarbraut'', 2000 *

Ketil Bjørnstad Ketil Bjørnstad (born 25 April 1952) is a pianist, composer and author. Initially trained as a classical pianist, Bjørnstad discovered jazz at an early age and has embraced the emergence of "European jazz". Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian) ...

: ''Old'', in cooperation with

Jai Shankar Jaishankar (12 July 1938 – 3 June 2000) was an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He was a very popular lead actor in the 1960s and 70s. He was credited onscreen with title of ''Makkal Kalaingnar'' (people's artiste) or '' ...

Palle Mikkelborg Palle Mikkelborg (born 6 March 1941) is a Danish jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger and record producer. He is self-taught on the trumpet, although he studied conducting at the Royal Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He became a professio ...

, Helen Davies and

, Vestfold International Festival 2000

Recordings

* "Kind" - 2L 2010 - Works by Marcus Paus, amongst others * ''Immortal Nystedt'' - 2L 2005 - Works by

* ''Liknarbraut'' - 2L 2002 - Work by Wolfgang Plagge * ''Old'' – Universal 2001 -

* Christmas album ''Det lyser i stille grender'' - Naxos 1998

References

External links

Ensemble 96
*

Norwegian choirs Chamber choirs Musical groups established in 1996 1996 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Oslo {{Norway-band-stub