Bjørnar Habbestad (1976) performs, creates, curates and researches contemporary music.
After completing studies in flute, chamber music and contemporary music at the Grieg Academy (2000), the Guildhall School of Music, London (2001) and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (2003), Habbestad has established himself as a soloist and ensemble musician in Norway and Europe. His activities range from premieres of solo works to installations, from chamber music to improvisation and electroacoustics.
Recent concerts include the premiere of Antti Auvinens’s flute concerto Ventilation Beat (2023) with the Avanti Chamber Orchestra, the staging of Sasha Waltz’s / Terry Riley’s In C for the dance company Nagelhus Schia Productions at the Norwegian Opera (2023), and the production of Lemur’s Symphonie magnétophonique at Ultima (2022) with Hild Sofie Tafjord (hrn), Lene Grenager (vlc) and Michael Duch (bss).
Habbestad holds a PhD in performance practice from the Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH), where he has studied collaboration processes between composers and performers. In dialogue with this research process, he developed works, ensembles, and installations that premiered in Oslo, Paris, Karlsruhe and Bergen. Since 2017, Habbestad has been the Artistic Director of nyMusikk, Norway’s leading organization for contemporary music. His broad and inquisitive programs for Only Connect have been met with critical acclaim. He also runs plus3db, a record label for experimental music, where he has recorded and produced more than 25 different albums.