A classical Christmas concert full of atmosphere, featuring soprano Marit Kristine Risnes, cellist Ilmari Hopkins, and Goedele Taveirne on the piano, presenting traditional and well-known Christmas carols in an acoustic format.
“Silent Night, Holy Night” by Franz Gruber, a song that has embraced generations and continues to touch hearts worldwide, originated in a village in Austria on Christmas Eve 1818. The organ in St. Nicolaus was out of order, so to create an atmosphere for the evening mass, organist Gruber composed a song that could be sung with a simple lute accompaniment. This is how the first performance of the world’s most famous Christmas song, Silent Night, took place on Christmas Eve in Oberndorf.
With Silent Night, Holy Night and its origins as the backdrop, the professional performers present an atmospheric programme leading up to Christmas. In 2024, this concert will be held for the 10th consecutive year and has become a cherished tradition for both the audience and performers, known for its “goosebump factor” (Sandnesposten).
Performers:
Marit Kristine Risnes, soprano
Marit Kristine Risnes studied singing at Agder Music Conservatory, the International Summer Academy Mozarteum in Salzburg, and the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, where she earned her Master’s degree as a “Soloist for Concert and Opera” under Professor Renate Krahmer. She also takes private lessons with Professor Norma Sharp at HfM Berlin. Marit has had an impressive career in Germany, performing at various opera houses and theatres, as well as concerts and recordings with the Chor des Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. In Norway, she has been a soloist with choirs and orchestras, participated in opera concerts, chamber concerts, and church concerts nationwide, and worked on projects with the Norwegian Arts Council, Rogaland County, and the Fund for Performing Artists. She has also been a soloist on NRK2's Salmeboka minutt for minutt.
Goedele Taveirne, piano
Goedele Taveirne (b. 1989) is a Belgian pianist educated at the conservatories in Brussels and Stavanger. She is an active chamber musician and accompanist with a broad and varied repertoire. Goedele has performed in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, England, Italy, and Scandinavia. She works as an accompanist and piano teacher at Stavanger and Klepp cultural schools and is involved in opera projects in Stavanger and Jæren.
Ilmari Hopkins, cello
Ilmari Hopkins, born in Finland in 1976, received his first cello education at the conservatory in Lahti and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He studied at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg with Professor Anatoly Nikitin and at Edsbergs Musik Institute and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm under Torleif Thedéen. Ilmari has won several prizes, performed as a soloist with major orchestras like the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, and taught at numerous international festivals. Since 2002, he has worked as an alternating principal cellist with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and taught cello at the University of Stavanger and Stavanger cultural school. He is also a cello teacher with YOA Orchestra of the Americas and has instructed young cellists in youth orchestras both in Norway and abroad.
Duration:
Approx. 1 hour
Organiser:
Marit Risnes