Bjørset, Synnøve

Synnøve S. Bjørset is an interpreter and promoter of traditional Hardanger fiddle music, especially music from the areas of Sunnfjord, Sogn and Valdres. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in performance from the Norwegian Academy of Music, and has spent many years studying with some of the most renowned Hardanger fiddle players and tradition bearers in Norway, including Håkon Høgemo. Her 2001 debut recording, the solo release Ram, was included in the purchasing programme of Arts Council Norway. She has qualified for the elite Category A in the National Contest for Traditional Music, and is a full-time free-lance musician. She was a member of the group Marylands (1999-2002), and is currently a member of the group Majorstuen (formed in 2002), which has received enthusiastic critical praise and several awards. In 2005 she participated as both a soloist and as part of the group Majorstuen in the Norwegian Concert Institute’s launching competition for new talent, INTRO-folk, which Majorstuen ultimately won. She has performed as an actor and musician in a number of productions at Sogn og Fjordane Theatre, and has composed and performed the music for Peer Gynt – en forestilling for ungdom (a performance for young people), which has been presented by the theatre group Thalias Døtre since 2005. In 2006 she held a showcase concert at Folkelarm in Oslo. She is collaborating with Hardanger fiddlers Anne Hytta and Åse Teigland on a concert for three soloists, Dei beste damene (2007), and together with Hardanger fiddlers Håkon Høgemo and Frank Rolland she is working on another concert for three soloists, Dei grovaste spelemennene (2007). She works as a project coordinator and producer in connection with concerts and record releases.

Discography

2001: Marylands (Heilo/Grappa)
2001: Ram (NORCD)
2003: Majorstuen (2L)
2004: Jorun Jogga (MFC)
2004: Hardanger Fiddle (NORCD)
2004: Sommarkveld, with Indre Sunnfjord spelemannslag (Etnisk musikklubb)
2006: Juledrøm (MFC)
2009: Slåttar (ta:lik)

Productions

Awards