Tora Karen Elisabeth Augestad (born 10 December 1979) is a Norwegian

mezzosoprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle ...

musical conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties ...

and actor. One of Norway's most established classical singers, she focuses on jazz, musical theater, contemporary music, and cabaret. Her stage debut was the lead role in "

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

" in 1994, and won the Norwegian talent competition in 1993 at TV 2. Augestad has received

Spellemannprisen Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizati ...

(Norwegian Grammy Award) and other awards for her albums. She is a frequent collaborator of Norwegian composer

Marcus Paus Marcus Nicolay Paus (; born 14 October 1979) is a Norwegian composer and one of the most performed contemporary Scandinavian composers. As a classical contemporary composer he is noted as a representative of a reorientation toward tradition, tonal ...

Background and education

Augestad was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, educated at the

Norges Musikkhøgskole The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the c ...

in Oslo and the

Kungliga Musikhögskolan The Royal College of Music, Stockholm ( sv, Kungliga Musikhögskolan i Stockholm) is the oldest institution of higher education in music in Sweden, founded in 1771 as the conservatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The institution was mad ...

in Stockholm and has studied singing with such as Torsten Föllinger and Ståle Ytterli, both classical music and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. She holds a master's degree in cabaret singing at Norges Musikkhøgskole with particular emphasis on

Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was an Austrian composer (his father was Austrian, and Eisler fought in a Hungarian regiment in World War I). He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artisti ...

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

and American cabaret. She is the daughter of Program 81/82 vocalist Kate Augestad and composer Geir Johnson.

Career

Tora Augestad and Mathias Eick in Bergen 2014-12-18

Augestad sang in Det Norske Solistkor (2000–2005) and the vocal band

Pitsj Pitsj (founded 1999 in Oslo, Norway) is a female Norwegian a cappella quintet. The band consists of Anine and Benedikte Kruse, the twin sisters Ane Carmen and Ida Roggen, and Anja Eline Skybakmoen (who replaced Tora Augestad when she left Pit ...

(1999–2006). She is the lead singer in the ensemble Music for a While, with the record release ''Weill Variations'' (2007). They released their second album ''Graces that refrain'' (2012) accompanied by a tour in Norway. Their third release was the album ''Canticles of Winter'' (2014). Augestad has been a soloist at the show ''The Source: Of Christmas'' with "The Source", participated in various

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

s and operas is and has been an actor/singer at "Teater Ibsen" in

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsj ...

as well as at the

Riksteatret Riksteatret (English: National Traveling Theater) is a Norwegian touring theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or ima ...

. She conducted the "Norges ungdomskor" (200-06). She is singing in the trio BOA, has been a soloist with various orchestras and ensembles, including the

Oslo Sinfonietta Oslo Sinfonietta is a Norwegian contemporary classical orchestra. It was founded by composer Asbjørn Schaatun in 1986. The current artistic director is Christian Eggen. Oslo Sinfonietta grew out of contemporary music circles at the Norwegian Acad ...

during the "Oslo Kammermusikkfestival". Augestad moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in 2007, and has been currently working with some of Europe's leading ensembles for contemporary music including

Ensemble Modern Ensemble Modern is an international ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting the music of modern composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany, and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countries. Hi ...

and

Klangforum Wien The Klangforum Wien is an Austrian chamber orchestra, based in Vienna at the Konzerthaus, which specialises in contemporary classical music. Founded by composer and conductor Beat Furrer in 1985, it is run on collective principles, having no o ...

. 15 October 2010 she was a guest on the Beat for beat, a program at

NRK1 NRK1 (pronounced as ''"NRK en"'' or ''"- ein"'') is the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's (NRK) main television channel. History Test broadcasts started on 12 January 1954, regular test broadcasts started on 13 April 1958 and regular broadca ...

. In 2008 she portrayed the

Grand High Witch The Grand High Witch of All the World or just The Grand High Witch, known as Eva Ernst and Lilith, is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1983 children's dark fantasy novel '' The Witches'' by Roald Dahl, as well as the graphic no ...

in the children's opera '' The Witches'' by

and

Ole Paus Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...

; the role was written for her. Since 2009 she has worked with the Swiss star director Christoph Marthaler. She has participated in the following of his productions at the opera in Basel: as soloist in "Wüstenbuch" (opera by

Beat Furrer Beat Furrer (born 6 December 1954) is a Swiss-born Austrian composer and conductor. He has served as professor of composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz since 1991. He was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 201 ...

), in "Meine faire Dame – ein Sprachlabor", and "Lo Stimolatore Cardiaco". Augestad had her debut in 2012 at the

Zürich Opera Zürich Opera (Oper Zürich) is a Swiss opera company based in Zürich. The company gives performances in the Zürich Opera House. History The first performance at the current theatre occurred on 30 September 1891, with a production of Wagner's '' ...

in a new production by Christoph Marthaler with soloist

Anne Sofie von Otter Anne Sofie von Otter (born 9 May 1955) is a Swedish mezzo-soprano. Her repertoire encompasses lieder, operas, oratorios and also rock and pop songs. Early life Von Otter was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father was Göran von Otter, a Swe ...

among others. In 2018 Augestad and the

Oslo Philharmonic The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 18 ...

released the album ''Portraying Passion: Works by Weill/Paus/Ives'', with works by

and

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed f ...

. Musicologist

Ralph P. Locke Ralph P. Locke (born 1949) is an American musicologist, classical music critic and professor emeritus of musicology at Eastman School of Music. He founded the ''Eastman Studies in Music'' series. He is a contributor to the ''New Grove Dictionary o ...

highlighted Augestad's recording of Paus' '' Hate Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra'', based on poetry by

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...

, as one of the "best opera and vocal music" works in that year, and noted that it "proved to be one of the most engaging works" in recent years; "the cycle expresses Parker's favorite theme: how awful human beings are, especially the male of the species." Augestad won the 2018

(Norwegian Grammy Award) in the Classical class for the album.Hun har sagt at hennes nye plate er en 40-årsgave til henne selv. Men det er også en vakker julegave til oss lyttere
" ''

Bergens Tidende ''Bergens Tidende'' is Norway's fifth-largest newspaper, and the country's largest newspaper outside Oslo. ''Bergens Tidende'' is owned by the public company Schibsted ASA. Norwegian owners held a mere 42% of the shares in Schibsted at the end ...

'', 6 December 2019 At the 2019 concert "Paus meets Cohen", Augestad and NyNorsk Messingkvintett performed new works by

and Marcus Paus. In 2020 Augestad released the mini-album '' Good Vibes in Bad Times'', a song cycle by Marcus Paus that reconceptualizes texts by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

as poems.

Discography

Solo albums

;Within Music for a While including with Stian Carstensen,

Mathias Eick Mathias Eick (born 26 June 1979) is a Norwegian jazz musician, and the brother of the jazz musicians Johannes Eick and Trude Eick. He is mainly known from his releases on the jazz label ECM Records. His main instrument is the trumpet, but he als ...

, Martin Taxt and Pål Hausken *2007: ''Weill Variations'' (

Grappa Music Grappa Musikkforlag (established 1983 in Norway) is a Norwegian music company initiated and directed by Helge Westbye. It is one of the oldest and biggest independent record companies in Norway today. The company represents prominent Norwegian a ...

) *2012: ''Graces That Refrain'' (Grappa Music) *2014: ''Canticles of Winter'' (Grappa Music) ;Within 'Augestad & Waagaard Duo' *2010: ''Over The Piano: American Cabaret Songs'' (Norway Music) ;Within 'BOA Trio' including with Morten Barrikmo and Tanja Orning *2013: ''BOA mOOn Over tOwns'' (Grappa Music)

Collaborations

;Within '

' *2006: ''

'' (Grappa Music) ;With 'Kammerkoret Nova' and Anne Karin Sundal-Ask *2012: ''To Whom We Sing'' (Lawo Classics) ;With

Trygve Seim Trygve Seim (born 25 April 1971) is a Norwegian jazz musician (saxophone) and composer. He started to play the saxophone in 1985 after hearing Jan Garbarek's CD ''Eventyr''. Career Seim was born in Oslo. He studied music at Foss videregåe ...

Frode Haltli Frode Haltli (born 15 May 1975 in Levanger), is a Norwegian accordion player. Biography Haltli started to play the accordion at the age of seven and over the following few years he won several national competitions and scholarships and was awa ...

and

Svante Henryson Svante Henryson (born 22 October 1963 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a composer, cellist, bass guitarist and double bassist, active within jazz, classical music, and hard rock. Biography Childhood and studies Svante Henryson grew up in Umeå in northe ...

*2016: ''Rumi Songs'' (

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...

) ;With the

*2018: ''Portraying Passion: Works by Weill/Paus/Ives'' (Lawo Classics), with works by

and

;With various artists *2019: ''Dialogues'' ;With Anders Kregnes Hansen *2020: '' Good Vibes in Bad Times'' (MTG Music)

References

External links

*
Music for a While Official WebsiteTora Augestad - Exam concert 2009: Sing me a cabaret.
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Music for a While: Come Again (live) - EnergiMølla
on

{{DEFAULTSORT:Augestad, Tora Norwegian women jazz singers 20th-century Norwegian actresses Norwegian conductors (music) Women conductors (music) Grappa Music artists Musicians from Bergen 1979 births Living people Norwegian musical theatre actresses People educated at Langhaugen Upper Secondary School 20th-century Norwegian women opera singers 21st-century Norwegian women opera singers 20th-century conductors (music) 21st-century conductors (music) Pitsj members Music for a While (band) members