Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra
The Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic (Norwegian: Arktisk Filharmoni) is an orchestral institution based in Tromsø and Bodø, Norway. Since its founding in 2009, it has become one of Northern Norway’s largest and most active cultural institutions, performing opera and concert productions in various formats each year.
The Arctic Philharmonic alternates between different ensemble formats on a regular basis from small chamber groups via the sinfonietta and chamber orchestra to a full symphony orchestra. Until 2018, the Principal Conductor of the orchestra was Christian Lindberg. Since 2019, Christian Kluxen isPrincipal Conductor, the Artistic Director of the chamber orchestra is Henning Kraggerud, and the Artistic Director of the sinfonietta Øyvind Bjorå.
The Arctic Philharmonic collaborates with other musicians in the region and has cooperation agreements with the Norwegian Armed Forces’ Band North and Landsdelsmusikerne i Nord-Norge.
Ownership, board and management
The owners are Tromsø City Council and Bodø City Council, each of which has a 50% shareholding, while the county councils of Nordland, Troms and Finnmark are contributing partners through the Cultural Agreement for Northern Norway. The Board of Directors comprises eight members and two substitutes. The Chair of the Board is Tor Arne Viksjø and the Deputy Chair is Nina Hjorth.
Albums
The orchestral institution has made several recordings with BIS Records, Naxos and Simax. In addition to their own albums, they have collaborated on album productions with Philip Glass, Kari Bremnes, Jon Larsen, Terje Nilsen, Unni Wilhelmsen, Hekla Stålstrenga, Glød, Anneli Drecker and Mannen som stoppet Hurtigruta.