Maria Oftestad is 19 years old and a first year student at The Norwegian Academy of Music where she studies with Sverre Riise and Jonas Bylund. She started playing trombone in Torshov school wind band in Oslo, and began the talent program Music at Majorstuen in secondary school with Synnøve Hannisdal as teacher, and the Barratt Due Young Talents program with Sverre Riise.
Maria has won a number of first prices in UMM, where she was named "Talent of the Year" and won Arve Tellefsen's talent price in 2020. She has participated in various courses and masterclasses, and has attended Ung Filharmoni in the Crecendo program. Maria has been a solois with several orchestras at festivals like the Oslo International Chamber Music Festival, the Chamber Music Festival in Stavern and Barratt Due's symphony orchestra. She is a passionate chamber musician, and has participated three times at the Stockholm Chamber Brass Academy and won second place in the Nordic Wind Chamber Music Competition 2021 with the brass quartet BADUM.