asamisimasa
The ensemble asamisimasa was formed in 2001. Their starting point was guitar player Anders Førisdal and percussion player Håkon Mørch Stene having played together since they were kids. Their focus were on composers who paid more attention to the condition of expressive music than to expressionism and sound, such as in the examples of Helmut Lachenmann and Brian Ferneyhough. Since 2004, the line-up has developed gradually, and today it consists in the following: Janne Berglund (soprano), Rolf Borch (clarinet), Håkon Mørch Stene (percussion), Anders Førisdal (guitar), Ellen Ugelvik (piano) and Tanja Orning (cello).
asamisimasa held their début concert at MS Innvik in 2001. Their first commissioned work was from the English composer James Saunders, whereas in later years they have collaborated with, among others, Spahlinger and Lachenmann.
Among Norwegian composers, they have co-operated tightly with Øyvind Torvund and Trond Reinholdtsen, who participated when asamisimasa in April this year was presented during the prestigious Deutschland Radio Kulturs Debut in Berliner Philharmonie, boasting of a tradition from back in the fifties.