LARS ANDERS TOMTER

Lars Anders Tomter began to play the violin at the age of eight and soon took up the viola. Both instruments he studied with Professor Leif Jørgensen at the Oslo Music Conservatory and the Norwegian State Academy. He was awarded a special prize for his interpretation of Bartók’s Viola Concerto at the International Viola Competition in Budapest in 1984 and then went on to win the Maurice Vieux International Competition in Lille in 1986.

Lars Anders Tomter’s international solo career started in 1987/88 when he toured extensively in the United States and Germany with the prestigious Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and continued with appearances on different stages in Scandinavia, Madrid, Budapest, Berlin, Bonn, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Paris, Prague, Rome, London, New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

Lars Anders Tomter has performed with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, City of Birmingham Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Dutch Radio Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Hungarian State Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Danish National Radio and Swedish Radio Symphonies.

In addition, he is artistic director of the Norwegian Risør Chamber Music Festival. He has a large repertoire including all major contemporary works, and he has recorded for Simax, Naxos, Virgin Classics, NMC, Somm and Chandos. Lars Anders Tomter is a Professor at the State Academy in Oslo. He plays a Gasparo da Salo viola dated from 1590.