Myhren, Øyonn Groven

Øyonn Groven Myhren was raised with music and singing in her home and her family background. She is the daughter of kvedar (traditional folksinger) Dagne Groven Myhren (Oslo/Telemark) and Hardanger fiddler Magne Myhren (Hallingdal/Numedal). From her mother’s side of the family she has inherited a widely varied singing tradition. The core of this tradition comes from her great-great-great-great-grandfather Ånund Berge (1753-1836), a kvedar, dancer and Norwegian zither player from Rauland. From her father’s side of the family she has been inspired to work with instrumentally-oriented singing in particular, such as vocalising Hardanger fiddle tunes. Another influential teacher and source of inspiration for Myhren was Hagny Huso, with whom she studied from 1997 to 2001. She has reconstructed musical notation recorded in the Oslo area in the 1860s, and has developed her own technique on the Norwegian mediaeval lyre in order to accompany her songs. She completed a three-year course of study in dance at Fagerborg Upper Secondary School, studied theatre with the Norwegian National Touring Theatre/Hordaland Theatre and studied folklore and ethnology at the University of Oslo. She was a member of the first class to graduate from the School for Vocal Studies at the Ole Bull Academy in 2000. Myhren works as a free-lance musician, and is a key figure in the Norwegian folk music community. Starting in 1994, she devoted considerable energy to uncovering the original text version of Draumkvedet by Maren Ramskeid of Kviteseid. She also made use of partly unknown tonal material in her performance of this major vocal work. For the Garborg anniversary in 1995 she created, along with actor Marit Koldbræk and fiddler Odd Lund, the presentation Haugtussa, in which she acted, sang and danced the role of Veslemøy. The production was staged several times at Det norske Teatret. In the autumn of 2000, Myhren was responsible for the folk music portion of the nationwide tour Lydlandskap, one of the most ambitious initiatives ever undertaken by Concerts Norway. In 2000-2001 she was engaged by Västanå Theatre, where she acted in around 50 performances of Herr Arnes Penningar in addition to composing the music for the work. In 2001 she and Odd Nordstoga collaborated on a commissioned work, Nivelkinn, based on the eponymous cycle of poems by Aslaug Vaa. The recording of this was released the following year, and won a Spellemannspris (Norwegian Grammy). On Myhren’s first solo release, Akkedoria frå Kristiania, she sings textless fiddle tunes, which could be viewed as a demanding way of making an entire record. In autumn 2005 The Magic Flute – a Folk Opera premiered at the Norwegian National Opera. In addition to playing the role of Ung Silja (Pamina), Myhren was active in casting, writing and arranging some of the music. She is or has been a member of the groups Åtte Potte (1998-2001), Aurora Borealis (1995-2000), Norsk folklore ensemble (1993) and Dvergmål (1995-2005), and has collaborated extensively with artists from other genres such as Bugge Wesseltoft, Bjørn Sundquist, Indra Lorentzen and Stein Winge. She has received a two-year government grant, from 2005 to 2007, for artists who are in the establishment phase of their careers. Øyonn Groven Myhren has qualified for the elite Category A in the National Contest for Traditional Music, and has won first prize twice. She was a member of the jury for INTRO-folk, Concerts Norway’s competition for launching new talent, in 2005 and 2007.

Discography

Awards

1997: Norwegian Folk Music Fund’s Folk Music Prize
1997: Sagaprisen (award for promising young folk music artists)
2002: Spellemannspris (Norwegian Grammy) for record Nivelkinn

Press/broadcasts

1995: Ivar Dyrhaug, Saturday entertainment, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation television
1997: Halvbror til reven, folk music programme, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation P2 radio