Please note: New concert start time – all subscription concerts begin at 19:00.
Johan Svendsen: Symphony No. 2
Anna Thorvaldsdottir (Composer-in-Residence): METAXIS – Norwegian premiere Performers
Ingar Bergby, conductor
Rui Marques, conductor
Ingar Bergby is one of Norway’s most renowned orchestral conductors, with an extensive repertoire spanning classical music, opera, contemporary, and crossover music. He has distinguished himself as an artist with a strong shaping force and deep commitment to his work.
Bergby trained as a clarinetist under Professor Richard Kjelstrup at the Norwegian Academy of Music. He later studied orchestral conducting with Professor Karsten Andersen at the same institution and with Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy.
Viewing the classical orchestral repertoire as the foundation of all music, Bergby applies this perspective across genres. He regularly engages with both classical and contemporary orchestral works. From 2003 to 2008, he served as principal guest conductor for the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, where he was responsible for Norwegian and Nordic repertoire.
As chief conductor of the Värmlands Sinfonietta, Bergby conducted several of Mozart’s most significant symphonies, Haydn’s London symphonies, and the complete symphonies of Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms. As a featured Norwegian conductor with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK) in 2009–10, he conducted all of Brahms’ symphonies, a project for which he was awarded the KORK Prize. The prize was given to “an established performer who has contributed to innovative and outstanding musical experiences.”
Portuguese conductor Rui Miguel Marques (born 2004) has served as Assistant Conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra since January 2025, working closely with the Orchestra’s Chief Conductor Andris Poga until the end of the 2025/26 season, as well as with a number of guest conductors. In addition, he has conducted several concerts of his own.
Marques has conducted orchestras including Orquestra Gulbenkian, Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester, Kecskeméti Szimfonikus Zenekar, West Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonietta Dresden, Alumni Symphony Orchestra Zürich, Atlantic Coast Orchestra, Orquestra Clássica do Centro and Alto Minho Youth Orchestra. Recent engagements include a performance of Verdi’s Nabucco at the J. K. Tyl Theatre in the Czech Republic and an invitation as guest conductor at a piano festival at Teatro Degollado in Mexico.
Marques is based in Oslo and studies conducting at the Norwegian Academy of Music under the guidance of Ole Kristian Ruud and Rolf Gupta. He is a participant in Dirigentforum Junior and has taken part in masterclasses with conductors including Johannes Schlaefli, Jorma Panula, Gustavo Gimeno, Tabita Berglund and Lawrence Foster. Prior to his studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music, he received instruction from British conductor Timothy Henty and Portuguese conductors Alexandre Madeira and Marta Falcão.
