Since 1990 the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir has sung under the leadership of Grete Pedersen, one of the most respected conductors in the international choral scene, renowned for productions and stagings with wide stylistic variety. Her contrasting concert programmes are often a rather radical mixture. In addition to premièring contemporary works and directing baroque productions, her efforts have increasingly been directed towards larger productions for choir and orchestra. Pedersen is in great demand as guest conductor and has worked with professional choirs and orchestras all over the world. She enjoys a close collaboration with the Norwegian string orchestra Ensemble Allegria.
Grete Pedersen is a pioneer when it comes to developing a style that combines folk music and choir. This began with the Oslo Kammerkor, which she founded in 1984. In recent years she has worked in depth with the oratorios by Haydn, but her curiosity about new music remains undimmed and her repertoire is constantly expanding. Grete Pedersen completed her postgraduate studies in conducting at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo with Terje Kvam and has also studied choral conducting with Eric Ericson and orchestra conducting with Kenneth Kiesler. With effect from 2022, she is artistic director of the Carmel Bach Festival in California as well as chief conductor of the festival’s orchestra and baroque orchestra. Grete Pedersen is professor of conducting at the Norwegian Academy of Music. She has received a number of awards and was in 2019 appointed Knight First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav.
