Unni Boksasp is a versatile musician with voice as her instrument. Her core repertoire derives from the vocal tradition of Nordmøre, with Magnhild Almhjell (1894-1985) serving as the most comprehensive source. She has also studied the singing traditions of Tinn and Telemark with Hanne Kjersti Yndestad. She has qualified for the elite Category A in traditional singing in the National Contest for Traditional Music. Boksasp studied folk music at Telemark College Institute of Folk Culture, folk dance in Trondheim, and folk music at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. She is currently working as a full-time musician in addition to teaching at the Telemark College Institute of Folk Culture. She is also involved in a number of school projects aimed at teaching children and young people the art of singing. Boksasp performs both as a soloist and in various ensembles such as the Nordmøre group Brann i blått and the children’s concert group Æppel pæppel, which has presented around 250 concerts for Concerts Norway in the county of Møre og Romsdal. In autumn 2007 she recorded her first solo CD, Songar frå Havdal, featuring her interpretations of folk music from northwestern Norway. Jorun Marie Kvernberg, Magne Vestrum, Ånon Egeland and Henning Sommerro accompanied her on the record. Unni Boksasp has performed at festivals in Norway and abroad, and has presented concerts throughout Norway. For the past few years she has worked with arranging folk music pieces for different ensembles and composing material based on traditional music. She has also worked with recently composed pieces by Henning Sommerro, Henrik Ødegård and others.

Discography

2002: Enno så segla ho Magnill (Nordmøre mållag)
2007: Songar frå Havdal (Ta:lik)

Appeared on

2007: Solaris, with Slagr

Awards/grants

2004: Two-year government grant for newly established artists