The Valdres sommersymfoni 2026 program is now released

12. March 2026

Valdres sommersymfoni is ready for a new festival filled with great musical moments, powerful artistic encounters, and a wide range of expressions. From 24 to 28 June, the whole of Valdres will be filled with concerts, performances, and musical experiences – along with a special preview concert before the festival begins.

This year’s program is curated by the artistic directors Guro Kleven Hagen, Alf Richard Kraggerud and Ann-Helen Moen (pictured above), and features 24 events and more than 50 participating artists.

– We would like to offer the audience a program that both surprises and touches them, says Ann-Helen Moen, who steps in as the festival’s new artistic director this year.

An informal and musical start to the festival season

At Gamle Raadhus Scene the program launch on the 7 March turned out just as warm and informal as we had hoped. Laughter flowed easily, and the sense of community grew even stronger when we — after a bit of improvised German practice — sang Franz Lehár’s Vilja-Lied from The Merry Widow together with Hanne Marit Mordal Iversen (soprano) and Revaz Abramia (piano).

The response to the program was immediate — both during the launch and in the days that followed — and ticket sales for all concerts are moving quickly. For some events, such as Musikk på liv og død (Music of Life and Death) with Morten Jentoft and the Closing Concert: Eight Seasons, we are introducing seat reservations for the first time. Here, it might pay off to be early to secure the best spots — though the concert experience will be just as powerful no matter where you sit.

Highlights from the program

This year’s festival ranges from vocal and chamber music to powerful contemporary voices and musical meeting points across the whole of Valdres. In total, there are 24 events featuring more than 50 artists.

You can find the full program here – below are some of the concerts we would like to highlight.

Opening Concert with Herborg Kråkevik and the TrondheimSolistene

The festival opens under the open sky at Valdres Folk Museum. Herborg Kråkevik and the TrondheimSolistene present a new repertoire based on Kråkevik’s songbook, combined with newly composed works that let Norwegian vocal traditions shine in a new light – with Guro Kleven Hagen as musical leader.

More info

To Belong – Rohey Taalah & TrondheimSolistene

Rohey Taalah, with her unique voice spanning soul, jazz and pop, meets the TrondheimSolistene in newly arranged versions of works from classical music to iconic modern songs. The result is a program exploring what it means to “belong” – musically and humanly.

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Music of Life and Death with Morten Jentoft

Together with the TrondheimSolistene, Morten Jentoft takes the audience on a musical journey through Eastern European history. Works by Janáček, Bacewicz, Silvestrov and Shostakovich gain additional depth as the historical backdrop of the region comes into view. A concert that doesn’t explain Eastern Europe, but lets us feel what has shaped it.

More info

Mini Nutcracker and Family Day

A family-friendly performance based on Tchaikovsky and Hoffmann’s classic. With dance, music and storytelling, the whole family is invited into the magical world of The Nutcracker at Valdres Folk Museum.

After the performance, the family day continues at Slidrehuset, where children can try various classical instruments under the guidance of music school teacher Eivind Dølerud. Anica Seljestad also hosts creative table activities.

More info

Ballad at Kongsgaarden

Join Tove Skjelstad and Odd Sagbråten for a mountain pasture walk on Aurdalsåsen before the day continues at Kongsgaarden. The evening at the farm—built in the 1950s in gratitude for the Danish food supplies Norway received during WWII—offers folk tunes, romantic works, and Grieg’s Ballade in G minor, along with music by Tveitt, Kvandal, Gade, Rachmaninov and Schubert.

More info

Grieg in Focus

A wide-ranging celebration of Grieg’s musical universe and 150 years of inspiration. Experience lectures by Liv and Torkil Baden, piano music performed by Christian Ihle Hadland, and song by Hanne Marit Mordal Iversen at Eker Gård. At Blåflat Gard, enjoy a concert with Henning Kraggerud (violin), Franz Kraggerud (cello), Sytske Pas (horn), and Nikita Khnykin and Christian Ihle Hadland (piano). In addition, you can experience Peer Gynt in ballet – a collaboration with Den Norske Skole and Ballettakademiet.

Homage

The concert brings together three works written for the same ensemble and places them in dialogue across 170 years. The program allows the audience to explore how Schubert, Weill and Gubaidulina each approach the same instrumentation in completely different ways. With introductions by Sigurd Sverdrup Sandmo, the concert gains a natural coherence and a red thread throughout the experience.

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Opera on Vesleøya

A returning audience favourite – now even more playful and virtuosic. Here you’ll be served highlights from opera’s great works in a performance that blends drama, humour and the sense of playfulness that keeps opera a living art form – one that resonates with everyone.

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Bach’s Heritage

In Ulnes Church, dating from around 1250, the audience encounters the music of Bach alongside works by Richter and Britten – composers who have drawn deep inspiration from Bach’s legacy. Meet Terje Tønnesen, Atle Sponberg, Knut Erik Sundquist, Njord Fossnes, Torun Stavseng, Ann-Helen Moen and more for an evening of immersion, playfulness and virtuosity – and Bach as you’ve never heard him before.

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Tapas! – A Fiesta at Nythun

Spanish temperament meets the Norwegian summer evening when music by de Falla, Tárrega and Albéniz is paired with tapas and humour. With Terje Tønnesen, Christian Ihle Hadland and Knut Erik Sundquist, this will be an evening for all the senses.

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Closing Concert: Eight Seasons

Vivaldi and Piazzolla meet side by side in a powerful finale. Two temperaments from two continents collide in an explosive conclusion to the festival.

More info