The BIT20 Ensemble is a

contemporary music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included se ...

ensemble from

Bergen, Norway 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 o ...

, founded in 1989. It was formed in the merger of the quartet, Bit4, and Ensemble 20. The ensemble has headquarters at

Grieghallen Grieg Hall ( no, Grieghallen) is a 1,500 seat concert hall located on Edvard Griegs' square in Bergen, Norway. Grieghallen was named in honor of Bergen-born composer Edvard Grieg, who served as music director of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra ...

. During its history, BIT20 Ensemble has performed more than 400 works and the ensemble serves as an important Nordic platform for new music, commissioning over 100 original works that have premiered internationally. The core of the BIT20 Ensemble is its 17 Principal Players. The ensemble's recordings comprise a catalogue of 20th-century classics, on numerous labels. BIT20 Ensemble specializes in new

Norwegian music Much has been learned about early music in Norway from physical artifacts found during archaeological digs. These include instruments such as the lur. Viking and medieval sagas also describe musical activity, as do the accounts of priests and pil ...

and has commissioned and premiered hundreds of Norwegian works as well as contributed to 26 CD recordings, including composers such as

Arne Nordheim Arne Nordheim (20 June 1931 – 5 June 2010) was a Norwegian composer. Nordheim received numerous awards for his compositions, and from 1982 lived in the Norwegian government's honorary residence, Grotten, next to the Royal Palace in Oslo. H ...

Ketil Hvoslef Ketil is a Norwegian masculine given name, and may refer to: * Ketil Askildt (1900-1978), Norwegian discus thrower * Ketil Bjørnstad (born 1952), Norwegian pianist * Ketil Flatnose (9th century), Norwegian hersir * Ketil Haugsand (21st century) ...

Kristine Tjøgersen Kristine, a variant of Christine, may refer to: * Kristine (given name) * Lisa Kristine (born 1965), American photographer * Liv Kristine (born 1976), Norwegian singer, songwriter * ''Kristine'' (TV series), a 2010 Filipino television series ...

, Knut Vaage and

Øyvind Torvund Øyvind Torvund (born 1976 in Porsgrunn) is a Norwegian composer. He studied composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music (Oslo) with Bjørn Kruse and Ivar Frounbergand, as well as at Berlin University of the Arts, Universität der Künste (Ber ...

. In 2019 the ensemble released Torvund's composition

The Exotica Album ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

on the label Hubro Music. Promoting children's interest in music and art is an important objective for the BIT20 Ensemble, which since 2007 has involved several thousand children in educational projects. Modern

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

is also a fundamental sphere of the BIT20 Ensemble's activities. Since the start of its collaborations with Opera Vest and later Den Nye Opera, the BIT20 Ensemble has participated in more than 20 operas.

Awards

In 2005 the BIT20 Ensemble was nominated for the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomo ...

’s Music Prize and Danish Music Awards-Classical. In 2003 the ensemble was given an honorary prize by the Norwegian Performing Rights Organisation TONO for its outstanding role in presenting Norwegian Music abroad. In 1993 the ensemble was hailed as Performer of the Year by the Norwegian Society of Composers for its promotion of Norwegian contemporary music. The ensemble have also been nominated to

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 ...

Musicians

* Flute: Ingela Øien * Clarinet: Håkon Nilsen * Bassoon:

James Lassen James is a common English language surname and given name: * James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambigua ...

* horn:

Danilo Kadovic Danilo is a given name found in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Serbian. Notable people with the name Danilo include: Athletes Footballers * Danilo (footballer, born 1979), Brazilian footballer Danilo de Andrade * Danilo (footballer, born 1 ...

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...

Jon Behncke Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...

Chris Dudley Christen Guilford Dudley (born February 22, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player and politician. He played 886 games across 16 seasons in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Nets, Portland Trail Blazers, New Y ...

* Harp:

Johannes Wik Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

Jarle Rotevatn Jarle is a masculine Norwegian given name and may refer to: People Given name * Jarle Aambø (born 1960), Norwegian sports official *Jarle Aarbakke (born 1942), Norwegian pharmacologist *Jarle Andhøy (born 1977), Norwegian sailor and explorer *J ...

Violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

Jutta Morgenstern The feminine name Jutta (pronounced "yutta") is the German form of Judith. There is also an alternative theory that it could be derived from the Germanic name ''Eutha'', meaning "mankind, child, descendant", or from a short form of ''Henrietta'' ...

* Violin: Martin Shultz *

Viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

Liene Klava Liene is a Latvian feminine given name. The associated name day is August 18. Notable people named Liene *Liene Bērziņa (born 1984), Latvian television and radio personality *Liene Fimbauere (born 1989), Latvian alpine skier *Liene Jansone (b ...

Cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

Agnese Rugevica Agnese is a given name and a variant of Agnes. Its name day is 21 January in Italy. People with the name Agnese include: * Agnese Allegrini (born 1982), Italian badminton player * Agnese Bonfantini (born 1999), Italian football player *Agnese Kok ...

Electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

Thorolf Thuestad Thorolf is an Old Norse masculine personal name. It means " Thor's wolf." Notable people with the name include: *Thorolf Kveldulfsson Thorolf Kveldulfsson was the oldest son of Kveldulf Bjalfasson and brother of the Norwegian/Icelandic goði ...

Double Bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

Christian Henriksen Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

Oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

Hege Sellevåg Hege may be a given name or a surname. Its given name version is the short form of Helga. People with the given name * Hege Bøkko (born 1991), Norwegian long-track speedskater * Hege Brannsten (born 1972), Norwegian sprint canoeist * Hege R. Eri ...

Percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Peter Kates Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a ...

* Percussion /

Concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signif ...

Trond Madsen Trond is a Norwegian male given name. The base of the name, Tron'r (Þróndr or Þrándr), is Old Norse and means "to grow and thrive" (þroásk)17785 peoplein Norway have Trond as their first name, making it the 23rd most used name (2008). The n ...

References

External links

Official web page
Contemporary classical music ensembles Musical groups established in 1989 {{norway-band-stub