The Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra (KSO,

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

: ''Kristiansand Symfoniorkester'') is a Norwegian

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

based in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...

. The KSO performs its concerts primarily at the

Kilden Performing Arts Centre Kilden Performing Arts Centre (in Norwegian: ''Kilden teater og konserthus'') is a theater and concert hall on Odderøya in Kristiansand, Norway. It houses Kilden Teater, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra (KSO) and Opera Sør in a joint projec ...

, and also at

Kristiansand Cathedral Kristiansand Cathedral ( no, Kristiansand domkirke) is a cathedral of the Church of Norway in Kristiansand Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Kvadraturen area in the central part of the city of Kristiansand. It is the ch ...

. The KSO is administratively based at the Kilden Performing Arts Centre.

History

One of the orchestra's precursor ensembles was the Kristiansand ''Byorkester'', founded in 1919. The ''Byorkester'' was then an amateur orchestra with some professional musicians in the ranks. Gunnar Abrahamsen, a cathedral organist, was the orchestra's first principal conductor, In the 1980s, the Kristiansand Chamber Orchestra formally was established, as a professional string orchestra. In 2003, the Kristiansand Chamber Orchestra and the Armed Forces Band of Southern Norway (which had its roots back to 1818) merged to form the present KSO. Under the new arrangement, the KSO preserves traditions from before the

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

, in that the strings act as Kristiansand Chamber Orchestra and woodwinds under the name of the ''Kristiansand Blåseensemble''. During the chief conductorship of Rolf Gupta (2006–2012), the KSO took up its current residence at the

, in January 2012.

Giordano Bellincampi Giordano Bellincampi (born 1965) is an Italian-born Danish conductor and trombonist. He is the Music Director of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. Previous position have included General Music Director of the Duisburg Philharmonic, Chief Conduc ...

was chief conductor from 2013 to 2018, and now has the title of ''æresdirigent'' (honorary conductor) of the KSO. Since 2018, the KSO's chief conductor is

Nathalie Stutzmann Nathalie Stutzmann (née Dupuy; born 6 May 1965) is a French contralto and conductor. Biography Born in Suresnes in France, Stutzmann first studied with her mother, soprano Christiane Stutzmann, then at Nancy Conservatoire and later at the ''Éc ...

, the first female conductor ever to be chief conductor of the KSO. Her current contract with the KSO is through 2023. In November 2022, the KSO announced that Stutzmann is to stand down as its chief conductor at the close of the 2022-2023 season.

Julian Rachlin Julian Rachlin (born 8 December 1974) is a Lithuanian-born violinist, violist and conductor. Background and early life Born in Vilnius, he emigrated in 1978 with his musician parents to Austria. In 1983, he entered the Konservatorium Wien and st ...

became principal guest conductor of the KSO in 2018. In April 2021, the KSO announced the appointment of Tabita Berglund as its next principal guest conductor, effective 1 August 2021, with an initial contract of three seasons. In November 2022, the KSO announced the appointment of Rachlin as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2023-2024 season.

Chief conductors (partial list)

* Gunnar Abrahamsen (1919–1921) * Rolf Balchen (1945–1950s) * Heinz Freudenthal (1969–1973) * Jon Robertson (1979–1987) * Terje Boye Hansen (2001–2006) *

Rolf Gupta Rolf Arvind Gupta (born 14 January 1967 in Uppsala) is a Norwegian contemporary composer and conductor. Career Gupta has studied with Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki as well as with Ilya Musin and Herbert Blomstedt. Gupta also stud ...

(2006–2013) *

(2013-2018) *

(2018–2023) *

(designate, effective 2023)

Artistic leaders for Kristiansand Chamber Orchestra (partial list)

Stephan Barratt-Due Stephan Henrik Barratt-Due Jr. (born 1 June 1956 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian violinist, the son of violinist Stephan Henrik Barrat-Due (1919–1985) and Else Barratt-Due (b. Holst, June 1925). Biography Barrat-Due started his violin studi ...

(1990–1996) * Jan Stigmer (1996–2003) *

Pierre Amoyal Pierre Amoyal (born 22 June 1949 in Paris) is a French violinist and is the artistic director of the Conservatory of Lausanne. He owns the "Kochanski" Stradivarius of 1717. It was stolen from him in 1987 and recovered in 1991. Life and car ...

(2007–2010)

References

External links

Official website of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra

Store Norske Lexikon page on the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra
{{Authority control Norwegian orchestras Symphony orchestras Musical groups established in 1919 1919 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Kristiansand