Arild Formoe (May 4, 1912 – December 2, 2006) was a Norwegian accordion player and orchestra conductor throughout the 20th century.

Life and work

Formoe was born in

Modum Modum is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vikersund. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area has a long tradition of ...

. He taught himself to play accordion by practicing three hours a day. He debuted as a soloist on Norwegian radio in 1934. In 1938 he founded the Rytmen (Rhythm) Orchestra together with the fiddler Gunvald Winaasen, bass player Arvid Gunnerud, and guitarist Knut Eriksen. In 1944 he was employed by Harald Henschien's accordion factory in

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2022 ...

. Henschien started an accordion studio in Hønefoss with teaching across the country. Formoe was an active driving force in this project. After the war, the Arild Formoe Quartet (''Arild Formoes kvartett'') was formed. This quartet played many times on the radio (

NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

), performed many concerts, and released some gramophone recordings. In 1952, Formoe and his wife Elfrid established the Hønefoss accordion school. From 1952 to 1987, Formoe taught over 10,000 students. Accordion clubs were established in many places, and Arild Formoe was the conductor of five orchestras: *The Hønefoss Accordion Orchestra (''Hønefoss trekkspillorkester'') *The Formoe Student Orchestra (''Formoes elevorkester'') *The Skotselv Accordion Club (''Skotselv trekkspillklubb'') *The Drammen Accordion Club (''Drammen trekkspillklubb'') *The Eidsvoll Accordion Club (''Eidsvoll trekkspillklubb'')

Awards

Formoe received the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

for his work. Formoe and his wife received the Buskerud County Cultural Award in 1993.

References

1912 births 2006 deaths Norwegian accordionists People from Modum {{Norway-musician-stub