Oslo Chamber Orchestra, founded 1957, consists of skilled amateur musicians and former professionals with a penchant for chamber music. Every year we perform 5–7 different programs that span many eras and genres, but with the main roots in classical music.
Unlike many other orchestras, we do not have a permanent artistic director, but engage leaders / conductors and soloists for each program. This allows us to invite the best in various musical fields, to our own taste and liking. We place a particular emphasis on young and up-and-coming conductors and musicians, who through us can gain experience in leading and instructing an orchestra, as well as in appearing in front of an audience. This has led to many thrilling encounters with musical professionals in the initial phases of what have often proved to be brilliant careers. Many of these also tend to return to us over time.
We aim to be an arena for young conductors and musicians, where they can gain experience in leading and instructing an orchestra, as well as in appearing in front of an audience.
The orchestra has active collaborations with the Norwegian Academy of Music on projects for graduate students of conducting and with Akademisk Korforening (the official mixed choir at the University of Oslo) for our yearly Christmas concerts in Sagene Church.
Rehearsals usually take place on Wednesday evenings (August–May) at OsloMet in Pilestredet, with 5–8 rehearsals before each concert. The orchestra has a relatively stable core of members, but with gradual changes over time. Members have no fixed positions within the orichestra, but regularly switch places within the instrument groups, some also between viola and violin. All new members are subject to a trial period.
