Artists

Black and white photo of Einar Selvik holding a lyre and looking down
Photo by Espen Winther

Einar Selvik is a Norwegian composer, main musician and founder of the renowned Norwegian music group Wardruna. Einar is primarily a musician, but his innovative combination of a scholarly and practical approach to Nordic ethnomusicology has gained him praise and respect in both professions. Einar has presented his work and methods in universities around the world and today there are several international top-researchers who use his music when they want to give students a feeling of how Old Norse “Skaldic” performances might have been executed. In this session Einar speaks about the approach, study and implementation of Old Norse traditions and mythical content in his work.

Photo of Emmi Kuittinen wearing a green scarf, smiling and looking into the camera, against a background of greenery
Photo by Juha Olkkonen

Emmi Kuittinen (born 1984) is a Finnish folk singer and musician, who specializes in Karelian singing traditions, especially laments. She performs laments both solo and with ensembles and has combined laments with other arts like dance, modern circus performance and stand up comedy. Her own ensemble, Emmi Kuittinen & Ikuisen ikävän orkesteri, has made performances based on Karelian death rituals and will release its first album in the autumn of 2020. Emmi is educated as a Master of Music, music teacher and community musician. Besides her artistic work, Emmi gives lament courses, works as an art teacher in kindergarten and teaches folk singing.

Picture of Girilal Baars leaning back and holdin a tiny megaphone to their mouth against a backdrop of bridges
Photo by Han Yingchou

Girilal Baars is a composer based in Uppsala Sweden. He works in the fields of electroacoustic music/sound art often with elements from traditional vocal folk music, also a field he has specialized in for many years. He has a PhD in composition from the University of Huddersfield, UK, as well as having studied composition at EMS in Stockholm, and voice at the Sibelius Academy in Finland. He has collaborated with many artists, including working in Marina Abramovich’s performance at the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm in 2017 and writing his own part in a production of Puccini’s Turandot later in 2017 (Folkoperan, Stockholm). His music has been performed on stages, at festivals and venues all over the world.