Ivar Thomassen (19 July 1954 – 28 November 2016) was a Norwegian folk singer, songwriter, and jazz pianist .
Biography
Thomassen was from Russenes in
Porsanger, Norway. He lived in
Alta and taught at Alta high school. From 1989 to 1997, he worked as district musician in
Vadsø
Vadsø (; sme, Čáhcesuolu; fkv, Vesisaari) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark County, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vadsø, which was the administrative centre of the former Finnmark county. Other ...
.
Thomassen composed and performed serious folk songs. Themes in these ballads have included the county and the region's nature, culture and history. Songs like ''Imella multebær og mygg'' and ''Det artige landet'' are frequently performed by local choirs and are well known among people from
Finnmark
Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024.
On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...
. Thomassen was also active as a pianist in big bands and jazz ensembles, and contributed with his own compositions in this context. He did school concerts, arranged music, composed choral works and gave piano lessons. Thomassen lived in Alta and taught at the program for music, dance and drama at Alta High School. He also wrote the youth book ''Operasjon kråkereir''.
Discography
* 2003: ''Attmed Havet'' (Nordisc)
* 2011:''Særlig Når Timan E Blå'' (Reflect)
Bibliography
* 2006: ''Attmed havet'' (Trane forlag) sheet music paperback
* 2007: ''Operasjon kråkereir'' (Trane forlag)
References
External links
SPELT – Visekubben i Tromsøat Viser.no
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomassen, Ivar
1954 births
2016 deaths
People from Porsanger
Musicians from Finnmark
Norwegian jazz pianists
Norwegian children's writers
Norwegian songwriters
Norwegian schoolteachers
Norwegian-language singers
Norwegian folk musicians