Jan Bjøranger

Violin Masterclass

Jan Bjøranger is one of Scandinavia’s leading ensemble leaders and violinists and is the artistic director of Ensemble 1B1. He is a creative artist who lives his life between teaching and performing. He regularly collaborates with artists such as Leif Ove Andsnes, Lars Anders Tomter, Yejin Gil, Clemens Hagen, Benjamin Schmid, Christian Ihle Hadland, Kristjan Järvi and Steven Sloane. Throughout his career, Jan Bjøranger has demonstrated a strong instinct as a musical entrepreneur.

He was Artistic Director of the Umeå International Chamber Music Festival in Sweden for six years and founding director of the “Klassisk I Sentrum” festival in Norway. He is also Artistic Consultant of the festival “Virtuoso & Belcanto” in Lucca, Tuscany-Italy. He says that his work in establishing 1B1 triggers his musical abilities as well as the entrepreneur and pedagogue in him.

The ensemble has established itself at the forefront, has won prizes and has been recognised by Vanity Fair, for example, as “one of the seven most important ensembles on the classical music scene today”. For this reason, Bjøranger is in demand as a conductor of ensembles and orchestras in Europe, including the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the MDR Symphony Orchestra, the Camerata Salzburg, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra as well as the Trondheim Soloists, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and the Danish National Chamber Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in several countries in Europe, Asia and America.

Jan Bjøranger has a strong didactic perspective for his artistic work. He is currently associated with the Berlin University of the Arts, where he teaches conducting, ensemble conducting and symphony orchestra production. He also gives masterclasses all over the world.

Jan Bjøranger has participated in a large number of recordings, mostly as leader or part of ensembles, but also as a soloist, for labels such as Simax, BIS, Phillips, Sony, CcnC, Chandos and EMI. He was honoured with the Norwegian Grammy for his recording of Grieg’s music for strings. His Mozart/Haydn recording with Clemens Hagen and Lars Anders Tomter has received exceptional international reviews.

As a performer and director, Bjøranger has worked with composers such as Arvo Pärt, Steve Reich, James MacMillan, Mark Anthony Turnage, Piers Hellawell, Daniel Schnyder, Rolf Wallin, Hafliði Hallgrímsson and Gija Kancheli. This also gives him a reputation among players on the contemporary music scene.

He has been teaching at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz since October 2023.