Kjersti Wiik is one of our premier performers in the classical music tradition, but she has also made her mark through her tremendous efforts in disseminating the work of Norwegian folk music. Wiik has a classical music education, but has always had a close relationship to folk music. Over the years, she has appeared as soloist with numerous choirs and orchestras, including the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. She has been affiliated with The Nationale Scene in Bergen, where she has starred…
Kjersti Wiik is one of our premier performers in the classical music tradition, but she has also made her mark through her tremendous efforts in disseminating the work of Norwegian folk music. Wiik has a classical music education, but has always had a close relationship to folk music. Over the years, she has appeared as soloist with numerous choirs and orchestras, including the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. She has been affiliated with The Nationale Scene in Bergen, where she has starred in several musical productions. In 1994, Wiik discovered that older song traditions from the Nordhordland region was about to be lost. She thus took the initiative to a comprehensive collecting and preservation of over 700 folk songs. A part of this material is presented on the two releases Strilesølv – Folkenar frå Nordhordland (1997) and Ro ro til Siraland (1999). In addition to her work as a classical singer and promoter of Norwegian folk music, Wiik is also active as a conductor, lecturer and teacher. Both as a classical singer and as a promoter of Norwegian folk music, she has participated in a series of concerts at home and abroad and she is still very active. In particular, she is committed to making available traditional Norwegian music for young listeners and working a lot with the mediation aimed at children and young people. Among other things, she teaches in "kvedesang" for young and has conducted several programs for children.
May 2011
