Biography :

Trained in both music composition and vocal performance, soprano Kristin Norderval performs a repertoire that spans the baroque to the avant-garde. "Worth hearing in anything..." according to the Village Voice, her performances range from opera, oratorio, and song recitals, to multi-media collaborations with dance and theater artists, and often include her own compositions. Highlights from the past few seasons include performances with the Oslo Sinfonietta, Netherlands Dance Theater 3, Prism, Sequitur, the New Music Consort, Varanger Ensemble, and with Einar Steen Nøkleberg, one of Norway's leading pianists. Recent festival appearances include the Pendel festival in Sweden, Spring in Havanna 2000 in Cuba, the EAR WE ARE festival in Biel, Switzerland, the Molde International Jazz Festival in Norway and the MALTA OFF Festival in Poznan, Poland. Previous credits include appearances as a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Ålesund Symphony, Santa Fe Opera, Sarasota Opera, and in the 1992 production and world tour of Philip Glass' and Robert Wilson's opera Einstein on the Beach (recorded on Nonesuch).

A staunch champion of twentieth century vocal repertoire, Ms. Norderval has commissioned and premiered numerous works by European and American composers, has performed both as an improviser and as a vocal soloist with new music ensembles, and has toured with several solo programs for tape and voice. She has recorded works by Mathew Rosenblum and Cornelius Cardew for CRI and Mode Records, and works by Sorrel Hays, Martina Cizek, Christopher Theiler and others for Norwegian, Austrian and German radio. The dance opera Pope Joan by Anne LeBaron was written for her in collaboration with Dance Alloy and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. In the past few years she has also developed three one-woman shows which have been presented in theaters both off-Broadway and in Norway, Finland, Poland, and Austria.

As a composer, Ms. Norderval has written primarily for voice, exploring its use in various contexts: concert, theater, electro-acoustic and multi-media. Her compositions have been presented at theaters and festivals in the USA, Cuba, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Austria, Romania and Switzerland. She has worked closely with several visual artists during the last two years, and has created concerts for schools in Norway which combine improvisation, photography and sculpture. Her multi-media works include Warum küssen die Menschen? - a work for two singers, signal processing and live video developed with Hanna Hänni; TUBE - a concert work with live video processing developed with video artist Lara Davis; and Lydavtrykk - a photography and sound installation created from site-specific recordings in acoustically unique locations in Oslo, Norway. Ms. Norderval has also composed the music for two short films - Kjersti Martinsen's Sub and Sidsel Pape's Monarken - as well as the music for Proud to be Here - a dance theater work by Swiss choreographer Katharina Vogel.

Performance :

Performances in North America, Europe and elsewhere