Summary in Enligsh

History

Baerum is a suburban district of Oslo, the capital of Norway. The population of Baerum is approximately 95,000 inhabitants.

Baerum has a wide variety of cultural activities. These include many choirs and brass bands, and groups of the performing arts such as theatre and musicals.

Baerum Symphony Orchestra was established in 1951 by merging two smaller orchestras in the district. From the start the orchestra has had good membership. The musicians are qualified musicians and music teachers, and amateur musicians of a relatively high standard. At the present time the number of musicians is approximately 80, and represents all instrumental groups. The group leaders are professional musicians.

Repertoir

The repertoire is relatively extensive when taking into account that the orchestra rehearses only once a week. The symphonic repertoire is mainly from the romantic period, and during the past three years the orchestra has performed three Tchaikovsky symphonies, two symphonies of Sibelius, and the Norwegian symphonies of Johan Svendsen and Edward Grieg among others. The orchestra also gives performances of violin concerti such as Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Sibelius and the piano concerto no. 2 of Rachmaninov. Works from the classical repertoire are not so frequently played, as the memebers of the orchestra wish to be musically engaged as much as possible.

The orchestra has a long tradition of co?operation with choirs, and during the lifetime of the orchestra most of the central sacred choral works have been performed, many of these performances have been with the best of Norwegian oratorio choirs. Verdi's Requiem has been performed five times in the past 17 years, as well as the requiems of Faure, Brahms and Mozart, Beethoven's 9th symphony and the Stabat Mater of Pergolezi and Rossini, Brahms Alto Rapsody and Elias of Mendelssohn?Bartholdy.

Recently the orchestra has broadened its repertoire and taken part in a series of concerts with "Wienermusik" with outstanding soloists in Oslo Concert Hall. In cooperation with the Department of Culture, local choirs and soloists from Baerum, a series of operetta performances has been given, including Die Fledermaus and the Merry Widow.

Chamber music concerts have been arranged to give the skilled and interested musicians in the orchestra the opportunity of performing chamber music.

Conductors

The committee of Baerum Symphony Orchestra has had a policy of engaging skilled and experienced conductors. During the recent years only professional conductors have worked with the orchestra at rehearsals and concerts. Some of these conductors are also active on an international level, among them Dag Nilssen, Kjell Seim, Bjarte Engeseth, Tone Bianca Dahl, Arnulv Hegstad. Among guest conductors from the international arena are Miltiades Caridis, Okko Kamu, Kresimir Sipusch and Oivind Fjellstad.