Artists 2024
David Coucheron
Violin
His phrasing is elegant and his concentrated tune a thing of beauty.
David Coucheron
Violin
David Coucheron is Concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He won the position in competition with more than 200 contestants, becoming the youngest Concertmaster of any major US orchestra. Born in Oslo, Norway, David Coucheron began playing the violin when he was three years old. He earned a Bachelor’s of Music degree at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, a Master’s of Music at the Juilliard School of Music in New York and a Master’s of Performance from Guildhall School of Music in London. He has studied with such eminent professors as Igor Ozim, Aaron Rosand, Lewis Kaplan and David Takeno. David plays a 1732 Stradivarius, loaned to him by the Anders Sveaas Almennyttige Fond.
Julie Coucheron
Piano
She has a beautiful legato and rubatoplay with great sense of melodic lines and exact vocals.
Julie Coucheron
Piano
At twenty-seven years of age, Ms. Coucheron has already established an international career, winning prizes in Italy, Germany and the United States. Ms. Coucheron has worked with musicians such as Claude Frank and Emanuel Ax. She has toured Europe, America, South America and Asia, performing on such great concert stages as Verizon Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall.
Born in Oslo, Norway, Ms. Coucheron began to play the piano at the age of four. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees at the Royal Academy of Music in London, with honors. Ms. Coucheron has performed at festivals such as the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, the Bergen International Music Festival and at the La Jolla Summerfest. For the last two years, Julie has been artistic director of the Fjord Cadenza festival in Norway. She is also a founding member of the Kon-Tiki Classical Music Fest in Oslo, Norway. In September, 2002, she released her first recording, ‘Debut’, on the Naxos label, performing with her brother, David. The CD includes lyrical and virtuoso music from the classical repertoire. In September, 2008, Ms. Coucheron and her brother released their second recording, ‘David and Julie’, on the Mudi/Naxos label. This recording, which includes sonatas by Grieg and Brahms, received superb reviews worldwide. Ms. Coucheron is a member of the Georgian Chamber Players and recently performed the Brahms piano quartet with them in Spivey Hall in Atlanta.
Sandra Lied Haga
Cello
Since her Wigmore Hall debut at the age of 12, Sandra’s passionate playing and the deep feelings she expresses has resonated with audiences and musicians all over the world.
Sandra Lied Haga
Cello
Norwegian cellist Sandra Lied Haga stands on the threshold of a major career, having won four international competitions, a number of European Prizes and the prestigious Equinor Classical Music Award, previously given to Leif Ove Andsnes, Truls Mørk and Lise Davidsen. She made her debut with symphony orchestra at age 11, and her rich, beautiful sound and prodigious talent have caught attention worldwide, and made her a sought after soloist, who captivates her listeners with what is described as a uniquely beautiful cello tone.
Since her Wigmore Hall debut at the age of 12, Sandra’s passionate playing and the deep feelings she expresses has resonated with audiences and musicians all over the world, in prestigious concert venues such as London’s Royal Albert Hall, the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, St. Petersburg Philharmonia, London’s Wigmore Hall, Salzburger Festspielhaus, Verbier Festival and many more.
Highlights this season include Brahms Double Concerto for Violin and Cello with Maxim Vengerov in London’s Royal Albert Hall, Istanbul and Eskisehir, a new album release for Simax and a three week tour with Midori in Japan.
In 2019 she recorded her Debut Album featuring Dvorak’s Cello Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations (original version) in legendary Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory. The recording, released on Simax Classics/Naxos in May 2020, has received international praise by some of the leading Classical music publications and radio channels, and received a prestigious nomination for the Norwegian Grammy award Spellemannprisen.
Sandra has collaborated with a number of prominent artists such as Maxim Vengerov, Leif Ove Andsnes, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Janine Jansen, Yo-Yo Ma, Midori, Truls Mørk and Paul Lewis.
She has performed with many European orchestras, under conductors such as Thomas Søndergård, Marios Papadopoulos, James Gaffigan, Rodolfo Saglimbeni, Ari Rasilainen, Juanjo Mena, Shao-Chia Lü, David Geringas and Terje Mikkelsen.
From 2023 Sandra Lied Haga is appointed Artistic Director of the newly founded Kristiansand Chamber Music Festival.
Born in Oslo in 1994, Sandra started playing the cello at the age of three. A remarkably rare absolute pitch formed her intuitive musicianship from the very beginning, and she was the youngest ever participant in the Barratt Due Institute of Music´s programme for gifted children. From 2004-2009 she studied with Oleg Kogan at the Razumovsky Academy in London, followed by six years with Truls Mørk.
Sandra Lied Haga plays a cello by Joannes Florenus Guidantus (Bologna, 1730), kindly provided by Dextra Musica.
Håvard Gimse
Piano
Håvard Gimse is one of the Nordic region’s most popular and significant concert- and recording artists.
Håvard Gimse
Cello
Håvard Gimse is one of the Nordic region’s most popular and significant concert- and recording artists. His highly personal sound of the instrument, his sympathetic approach and intelligent, investigative programming have led to numerous prizes and countless glowing reviews. He has received the Diapason d’Or and Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice accolades, among others for his recent recording together with the cellist Truls Mörk. Gimse’s playing is to be heard on recording labels like Naim Audio, Sony Classical, Chandos, Simax, Naxos, Lawo, Fabra and Alpha-Classics.
Håvard has performed on many of the world’s most prestigious stages including the Wigmore Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York, Palais des Beaux Arts in Brüssels, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Recital Hall in St Petersburg, the Suk Hall in Prague, and the Konzerthaus in Berlin.
Gimse’s victory and 1st prize at the Jugend Musiziert Competition in Frankfurt in 1987 was the last competition he did, but the first in a string of major accolades to come his way. He won the Steinway Prize in 1995, the Grieg Prize in 1996, the Sibelius Prize in 2004, Norwegian Critics Prize for his performances of Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas with Truls Mörk at the 2011 Bergen International Festival, and just some months ago the “Lindeman Prize” which is considered to be the most important musical award in Norway.
In the Nordic countries, Håvard has performed as a concerto soloist with nearly all the major Scandinavian orchestras. Further afield he has performed with the Baltimore, the Atlanta, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, with the Royal Philharmonic in London and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras, plus now recently with the Hallè Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic, Prague Symphony, Frankfurt Radio and Belgian National Philharmonic Orchestras.
In addition to performing as a soloist, Håvard has all his life been playing a lot of chamber music. He has been heard in numerous chamber music festivals all over the world, performing together with many of today’s most important musicians. He has been leading chamber music festivals both in Elverum and Fredrikstad (the Mozart Festival) and his nearly 30 years of contribution to the Oslo Chamber Music Festival has led to countless memorable concerts with world famous artists.
Håvard Gimse has since the late nineties been a part-time Professor of Piano and chamber music at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.
Christopher Tun Andersen
Violin
Christopher is a prize-winning participant in several international violin competitions.
Christopher Tun Andersen
Violin
Christopher started playing the violin at the age of four. He studied with Professor Isaac Schuldman, first at the Barratt-Dues Institute of Music and later from 2010 at the Norwegian Academy of Music.
When Christopher was 15 years old, he made his debut with the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra under the direction of conductor Alexander Kantorov. Since then, he has played with this orchestra in St. Petersburg's legendary concert halls and performed violin concertos by Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, and Brahms.
Christopher has done his master's and professional studies with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinca Kopec (Pinchas Zukerman Performance Program) at the Manhattan School of Music, one of the world's leading music education institutions.
In 2019, Christopher continued his studies on the Artist Diploma at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen (DKDM) with Peter Herresthal, combined with private lessons with Boris Kuschnir in Vienna.
Christopher is a prize-winning participant in several international violin competitions, e.g. XV International Tchaikovsky Competition in Mokva (2015). He has won 2nd prize in the International Violin Competition in Wörthersee Austria (2007), 1st prize in the largest national violin competition in Germany "Jugend Musiziert" (2007) and the Heifetz prize in the IV International Jascha Heifetz Violin Competition (2013). In 2019, he was also selected for the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow. In the year 2020, he won 1st prize in the Serguei Azizian violin competition in Copenhagen.
Christopher has also been a soloist with several well-known international orchestras such as the Berliner Symphony in the Berlin Philharmonic, the Glinka Capella in St. Petersburg, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the Minsk State Chamber Orchestra, the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and the Broadcasting Orchestra. In 2018, Christopher was soloist in the Russian premiere of the Halvorsen violin concerto with the Glinka Capella orchestra under the direction of Jørn Fossheim in the Glinka Capella hall in St.Petersburg.
He has been invited to play at festivals such as Holland International Music Sessions, Verbier Festival Academy, Kronberg Academy, Festspillene i Bergen and Glafsfjorden Musikkfestival. Christopher has participated several times at the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, i.a. with Arve Tellefsen at Oscarshall in 2015 and the following year where he played chamber music with Pinchas Zukerman in Norway’s Aulaen.
Ida Bryhn
Viola
Ida Bryhn founded, and now leads the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra's development program for young talented musicians.
Ida Bryhn
Viola
Ida Bryhn is first violist in the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. She is also a professor at the renowned Barratt Due Music Institute in Oslo and the Royal College of Music in London. She is a regular guest musician in various chamber and symphony orchestras such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra in London, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Stockholm Philharmonic and Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few.
She has also performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Broadcasting Orchestra, the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra, Diamant Ensemble Copenhagen. Ida is also a keen chamber musician. She is the artistic director of the Gloppen Music Festival on the west coast of Norway and is regularly invited to summer festivals in Europe and the USA.
Ida Bryhn founded and now leads the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra's development program for young talented musicians. She is also a regular guest teacher at academies in Northern Europe and her students have won prizes in various competitions in Norway and Europe.
As a Fulbright Scholar, she studied with Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory where she graduated with honors in performance. She has received several awards and honors from the Norwegian state and private foundations in Norway.
Ida Bryhn plays a viola made by G. and F. Grancino in 1665, generously lent to her by Dextra Musica in Norway.
