Press release: The honorary title Performer of the Year is awarded by the Norwegian Composers' Association to a musician or ensemble that promotes new Norwegian music in an exceptional way. Previous years have included Cikada, the Vestlandet Armed Forces Band and Terje Tønnesen.
/ 03/12/2009 / codexThe 2009 performer of the year is the eminent ensemble . The award was presented at the Norwegian Composers' Association's pre-Christmas party on Saturday, November 28th and consisted of a walking trophy and a gift voucher for kr 15.000,-. POING was formed in the summer of 1999 and consists of Frode Haltli (accordion), Rolf-Erik Nystrøm (saxophone) and Håkon Thelin (double bass). The group became part of the contemporary music festival canon early on and quickly established itself at festivals such as Ultima, Borealis and Happy Days with their virtuoso programming. They have actively contributed to promoting contemporary music and premiered over 50 works by Norwegian, European, American and Asian composers. As instrumentalists, the performers in the group are among the best in the country on their instruments, and master all of the extended, intricate, un-idiomatic and bizarre techniques. POING can be experienced at Parkteateret on Sunday 13 December. Then the group will play its annual pre-Christmas concert, which also marks the end of the ensemble's 10th anniversary.