Under the midnight sun in Lofoten (Norway), Gusse and Arvid decided to form a string quartet. With Atle and Juliet, the Engegård Quartet took off in 2006. It soon became one of the most sought after chamber music ensembles in Norway, appearing in its first season in major Norwegian festivals including Festspillene in Bergen and the Oslo Chamber Music Festival. Arvid Engegård decided at the age of ten, that the string quartet was the ideal medium for making music. Major…
Under the midnight sun in Lofoten (Norway), Gusse and Arvid decided to form a string quartet. With Atle and Juliet, the Engegård Quartet took off in 2006. It soon became one of the most sought after chamber music ensembles in Norway, appearing in its first season in major Norwegian festivals including Festspillene in Bergen and the Oslo Chamber Music Festival. Arvid Engegård decided at the age of ten, that the string quartet was the ideal medium for making music. Major milestones in his life include an influential period as concertmaster of Camerata Academica in Salzburg under the direction of Sándor Végh, before leading the Orlando Quartet for several years. Arvid is in considerable demand as a conductor, working regularly with both Scandinavian and European orchestras including the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mozarteum Orchestra, Salzburg. Engegård is the Artistic Director of Lofoten International Chamber Music Festival. As concertmaster of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Atle Sponberg is a main figure in Norwegian musical life. He also directs projects with Scandinavian ensembles including the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and Trondheim Soloists. Atle studied tango in Buenos Aires, and has his own band, La Fuente. Sponberg directs the Chamber Music in Kristiansand Church Music Festival. After graduating in Economics from Trinity College, Cambridge University, Juliet Jopling returned to her dream of becoming a chamber musician. A prizewinner of the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, Juliet has appeared as soloist with orchestras including The Philharmonia, London. Juliet has been a member of a quartet nearly all of her life, starting in childhood with her family quartet. Miss Jopling is the Artistic Director of Kerrys International Chamber Music Festival. Jan Erik Gustafsson (Gusse) has an impressive collection of international prizes and a solo career to match. Gusse won third prize in the European Broadcasting Union in 1986, second prize in the Leonard Rose Competition and won the US Young Concert Artists agency prize in 1994. He has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras including the Berlin Radio Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Stockholm Radio Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic and Washington National Orchestra. Gustafsson played with the New Helsinki String Quartet for thirteen years and directs the Sibelius Festival in Lovissa, Finland. June 2010
