Øyvind Brabant has been a dominant figure in the teaching and promotion of the hardingfele tradition of the area of Hallingdal in Norway through his more than twenty years of teaching in community and music schools. Øyvind has distinguished himself in many ways as a practicing artist and fiddler on the highest level. He is one of Norway's foremost players of the hardingfele, the Norwegian folk fiddle with sympathetic strings, and is highly regarded both as a concert and dance fiddler. In Øyvind's recording “Vrengja,” (1999) he documents little-known tunes with his crystal-clear, energetic fiddle style. His performances are of extremely high quality, and his playing is a model for younger fiddlers. He has a large repertory of traditional tunes centered on the tradition of Hallingdal, and he is very aware of the best methods of transmitting tradition. Øyvind is a Landskappleik (Norwegian national traditional music competition) winner, and he has also won a long string of local, regional and provincial competitions. In addition he has toured in the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Finland, Germany, and elsewhere.