Brief english
description
POING is
Rolf-Erik Nystrøm, saxophones
Frode Haltli, accordion
Håkon Thelin, double bass
This unusual
Norwegian trio is doing interesting work off the beaten track. The unusual begins
with the instrumentation ...and display considerable technical depth and breadth,
as well as strong ensemble identity. Julian Cowley, The Wire
POING started playing together in 1999, and has since then been one of the
leading ensembles for contemporary music in Scandinavia, with more then 40 first
performances by European and Asian composers. They have played in clubs and
concert halls in most European countries, the US as well as in China and Japan. In 2009 POING was selected "Performer of the Year" by the Norwegian Society of Composers.
Among the European festivals POING has played at are Huddersfield Contemporary Musik Festival (UK), The International Gaudeamus Music Week (Netherlands), Klangspuren (Austria), Bergen International festival (NO), Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival (NO), Glasperlenspiel (Estonia), Saxofonia Festival (Latvia), Ilios Contemporary Music Festival (Harstad, Norway), Autunnale and Borealis festivals (Bergen, NO), Magma (Berlin), Göteborg Art Sounds Festival (SE), UNM (Young Nordic Music) in Denmark, Finland and Iceland, fini04 festival (Paris, France), Time of Music Festival (Vitasaari, Finland) and the Other Minds Festival (San Fransisco).
In may 2003, POING
toured in Japan with Nordic music and new commissions by the Japanese composers
Sachiyo Tsurumi, Hiroyuki Yamamoto, Hideki Kozakura and Takmi Ikeda.
In 2004 POING was artist in recidency at the Scandinavian-Chinese cultural centre TCG Nordica, Kunming (China) for a month, and gave several concerts and workshops in Kunming and in Beijing. In 2005 they were invited back to China, and on this tour concerts were given in Kunming, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. In 2005 they were invited back to China,
and on this tour concerts were given in Kunming, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and
Hong Kong (where a new work by CHAN Hig-Yan for POING and traditional Chinese
instruments were premiered).
POING has a regular co-operation with Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje based on a Weill/Brecht programme or doing concerts featuring Ratkjes compositions (in 2004 this was done in Konzerthaus Wien!). They have also played with traditional musicians from around the world, jazz musicians and pop singers. They annualy have a Christmas concert in Oslo with lots of friends as well as a Labour Day concert with basis in the Weill/Brecht programme.
Concerts in 2006 included a large-scaled Nordic tour (Iceland, Faroe Islands and Greenland), several festivals and concerts in Europe as well as a US tour. In 2009 POING celebrated their 10 years anniversary with a series of concerts in Oslo and a big festival at Ingierstrand Bath where they met the first time.
In 2003 POING released their first CD “Giants of Jazz”. On this recording POING perform pieces by Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje, Eivind Buene, Øyvind Torvund and Knut-Olaf Sunde, in addition to an improvised section. All of the pieces have been written specially for the trio in a creative process that has seen the ensemble and composers working closely together. The CD also contains a bonus video track with film and music by Nora Wjeck aka Lars Petter Hagen, a recipient of the prestigious Arne Nordheim composer’s prize. ‘Giants of Jazz’ puts on a display of considerable technical depth and breadth as well as strong ensemble identity.
Their latest
CD, entitled "Planet POING" is released on Jazzaway Records.
The CD contains works by Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje, Sachiyo Tsurami, Lars
Petter Hagen, Aki Asgeirsson and Jexper Holmen.
It is unique to be able to write and compose for musicians who are not
only capable of playing the impossible, but who also do so with pleasure. Poing
has got an admirable Midas touch that turns everything they lay their hands
on into good music.They have played even the most stumbling of my ideas with
such energy and conviction that I have almost begun to believe in them myself,
something that of course makes everyday life seem much easier for a poor composer. Bendik Hagerup
Frode Haltli (b. 1975) studied the accordion at The Norwegian State Academy of Music and at The Royal Danish Concervatory of Music where he ended his studies in 2000. He was awarded the "Young Soloist of the Year 2001" title by the Norwegian Concert Institute at the Bergen International Festival 2000. His debut CD Looking on Darkness (ECM New Series) recieved the Norwegian record industry’s prize Spellemannprisen for best contemporary music album 2002. In 2007 Passing Images (ECM) was released to great international acclaim. Frode currently lives outside Oslo but he is touring a lot abroad, and has played as a soloist at festivals and concerts in in Europe, Russia, America and Asia. He has performed as a soloist with major orchestras, but is is also actively working with chamber music: At present it is POING that occupies much of his time, but he also plays and records with Trygve Seim (ECM) and Norwegian folk music in RUSK with folk singer Unni Løvlid and fiddler Vegar Vårdal.
www.haltli.com
Rolf-Erik Nystrøm (b. 1975) released his first soloalbum Concepts of Sorrows & Dangers in 2006 with works by Wallin, Francesconi, Xenakis, himself, Ratkje, Reinholdtsen, Torvund and Hagen. The CD received great critical acclaim in the major Norwegian newspapers. Nystrøm received the Young Peoples Lindeman-prize 2005 (the highest acclaim for young musician’s in Norway), the two-year Artist Grant from the state in 2004 and the National Concert Council’s Debut Prize 2001. He has appeared as a soloist with the Oslo Philharmonic, Sinfonieorkester Basel, Swedish Radio Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Stavanger Symphony, Norwegian Radio Orch., Kaput Ensemble (Iceland), Norwegian State Academy Orch. and sinfoniettas in Norway and Finland. He has given recitals in more than 25 countries on 4 continents, premiéred more than 80 works for saxophone, participated on more than 50 albums, worked as a records producer on other people's records, and written music for different music theatre plays, documentaries, chamber music and more. He holds a masterdegree in saxophone from the Norwegian State Academy of Music after studies with John Edward Kelland and an exame with the highest grade. Today he gives lectures in contemporary music at the same institution. In addition to performing contemporary music, he also regularly performs West-African, improvised, jazz, funk and early baroque music.
www.rolferiknystrom.com/
Håkon Thelin (b. 1976) finished his master study at the Norwegian State Academy of Music the spring of 2003 where he did a theoretical and practical study on percussion techniques on the double bass in modern music. He is one of the premier double bass interpreters of contemporary music in Scandinavia and has composed several works for the instrument. He works freelance in all Norwegian symphony orchestras as well as chamber-groups like Ensemble Ernst, Cikada, the MiN-ensemble, Apartment House and musikFabrik Köln. In the season of 2005/2006 he worked as principal double bass in the Norwegian Opera.
Håkon is a member of the contemporary music ensembles Oslo Sinfonietta and POING. POING has premiered more than 50 works and are now working with composers like Richard Barrett, Dror Feiler, Luca Fransesconi, Helmut Oehring and Michael Finnissy.
Håkon plays regularly recitals with contemporary music and his first solo recording a p)reference to other things was released in 2004 on Albedo (ALBCD023) with works by Iannis Xenakis, Bent Sørensen, Jacob Druckman as well as his own works.
He plays in improvising duo with drummer/percussionist Ingar Zach and in the baroque-ensemble Holberg Barokk.
Håkon is, in collaboration with saxophone player Rolf-Erik Nystrøm, from the autumn of 2006 teaching the new subject Improvisation Based Contemporary Music at the Norwegian State Academy of Music.
www.thelin.no
Contact POING:
POING c/o Lars Igesund
Heiasvingen 6
N-1177 OSLO
Norway
poing@poing.no
tel: +47 9185 2243