OSLO 14 IS A VOCAL ENSEMBLE POOL OF 23 SINGERS BASED IN OSLO, NORWAY. THE ENSEMBLE WAS INITIATED BY SINGER/COMPOSER ELIN ROSSELAND TOGETHER WITH ØSTNORSK JAZZSENTER NOVEMBER 2014. SPRING 2017, SINGER/COMPOSER ANDREAS BACKER WAS THE NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, FOCUSING ON FREE VOCAL IMPROVISATION IN A LARGE FORMAT, AS WELL AS VARIOUS COMMISSION WORKS BY MAINLY NORWEGIAN COMPOSERS. OSLO 14 WORKS MAINLY W
ITH PURE HUMAN VOICE SOUNDS, NO SAMPLING OR ELECTRONIC DEVICES, MOST OFTEN ACOUSTICALLY OR SOMETIMES WITH STANDARD MICROPHONES/PA. THEY AIM TO DEVELOP AND PERFORM NEW, CONTEMPORARY MUSIC AS SINGERS WITH JAZZ AND IMPROVISATION BACKGROUNDS. AND TO PUSH NORWEGIAN CHOIR/VOCAL ENSEMBLE MUSIC, AS WELL AS IMPROVISED MUSIC, IN A NEW DIRECTION. MOST OF THE SINGERS ARE EDUCATED FROM THE NORWEGIAN ACADEMY OF MUSIC, NOW FREELANCE SINGERS/MUSICIANS WITHIN THE STYLES OF JAZZ, POP, FOLK, IMPROV, CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC ETC. OSLO 14 HAS PERFORMED COMMISSION WORKS BY COMPOSERS SUCH AS SUSANNA, LISA DILLAN, SOFIA JERNBERG, WENCHE LOSNEGÅRD, CAMILLE NORMENT, JESSSICA SLIGTER AND OLE HENRIK GIØRTZ, G**O S. MOE, ANDREAS BACKER, TINE SUREL LANGE, ERIC EGAN, MATHILDE GRROSS VIDDAL, BENDIK SELLS. THEIR FIRST ALBUM, IMPROVISASJON*KOMPOSISJON, WAS RELEASED FALL 2016 ON NOR CD. MEMBERS (PRESENT AND PREVIOUS)
KAROLINE RUDERAAS ALBRIGTSEN,
BETHANY FORSETH-REICHBERG,
GRO-MARTHE DICKSON,
ÅSHILD BERGILL HAGEN,
INGRID VIK HENRIKSEN,
LISE HVOSLEF,
HEDDA HAMMER MYHRE,
INGRID DYRNES SVENDSEN,
LIVE FOYN FRIIS,
HANNE KALLEBERG,
AUGUST KANN,
THERESE L**H,
HANNA NYDAL,
LISBETH-ANITA GRIMSØ OLSEN,
GIUSEPPE CREAZZO PANTANO,
ASTRID ELISABETH PEDERSEN,
INGRID STØYLEN RUNDE,
SESHEN,
LIVE SOLLID SCHULERUD,
SIGRID STRAND STIBERG,
SIGNE IRENE STANGBORLI TIME,
THOMAS TVEDT,
MARTHE HAALAND WANG,
THEA EMILIE WANG,
SIGRID AASE,
ELINE HELLERUD ÅSBAKK,
BENDIK SELLS,
BIRTE SLETTEVOLL,
SEAN BELL,
CAROLINE ARAUJO BAKKE
PETTER HAUGLUM BERMINGRUD,
VEMUND GRUNDE KJELDSTAD
EVA B. STORRUSTEN
HEDDA HAMMER MYHRE
MARIKA SCHULTZE
LIVE FOYN FRIIS
ARTISTIC DIRECTORS:
ELIN ROSSELAND, ANDREAS BACKER
BENDIK SELLS
HISTORY AND PREVIOUS PROJECTS
FEBRUARY 2015, OSLO 14 COLLABORATED WITH CAMILLE NORMENT ON HER SOUND INSTALLATION FOR THE VENICE BIENNALE IN 2015 – ‘RAPTURE’
(HTTP://WWW.OCA.NO/VENICE-BIENNALE/VENICE-BIENNALE-2015.1/)
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015, THE ENSEMBLE MADE THEIR FIRST RECORDING AND VIDEO AT LEGENDARY RAINBOW STUDIO, OSLO. OSLO 14’S DEBUT CONCERT WAS ARRANGED BY NYMUSIKK THE 5TH OF JUNE 2015 AT KVADRATUREN, OSLO, WHERE THEY PERFORMED THEIR FIRST COMMISSION WORK, BY NORWEGIAN ARTIST AND COMPOSER SUSANNA. THE 11TH OF AUGUST 2015, OSLO 14 PERFORMED WITH THE NORWEGIAN JAZZ TRIO, JØKLEBA, AT OSLO JAZZ FESTIVAL. THE CONCERT TOOK PLACE IN MAIN HALL AT OSLO UNIVERSITY, AS A CELEBRATION OF 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF JOHN COLTRANE’S ALBUM “A LOVE SUPREME”. FEBRUARY 2015 – FEBRUARY 2016, THE ENSEMBLE MADE A SERIES OF RECORDINGS IN RAINBOW STUDIO, WITH THEIR ALBUM “IMPROVISASJON*KOMPOSISJON” AS THE RESULT. THE ALBUM FEATURES IMPROVISATIONS, AND MENTIONED COMMISSION WORKS BY SUSANNA, AND SINGER/COMPOSER WENCHE LOSNEGÅRD. FEBRUARY 2016, OSLO 14 COLLABORATED WITH COMPOSERS LISA DILLAN, SOFIA JERNBERG AND WENCHE LOSNEGÅRD, PERFORMING THEIR COMMISSION WORKS AT NASJONAL JAZZSCENE, VICTORIA, OSLO. ABOUT THE NAME
THE NAME OF THE ENSEMBLE WAS ESTABLISHED WHEN 14 SINGERS STARTED OUT IN OSLO 2014. IN ADDITION, THE CHOICE OF NAME WAS MEANT AS A TRIBUTE TO STYLE CREATORS OSLO 13 – A LEGENDARY NORWEGIAN “BIG BAND” ACTIVE IN THE LATE 80’S/EARLY 90’S. THE ENSEMBLE OSLO 13 WAS CONSTITUTED A “SEPARATE MUSICAL DISTRICT”, AS THE CITY OF OSLO HAD ONLY 12 DISTRICTS AT THAT TIME.
