Aldubáran

Aldubáran was formed in 1995 by seven Faroese musicians. Later the ensemble expanded to ten musicians and at present it consists of flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trombone, two violins, viola, guitar and piano. The musicians in Aldubáran are pioneers in more than one sense, since they are also the first generation of professionally trained Faroese musicians, mainly educated abroad, for example in Vienna, Utrecht and Copenhagen.

Several of the musicians also play in other contexts outside the Faroe Islands, for example in Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen and Ensemble Modern.

The ensemble, which has been very active on the concert scene ever since the beginning, plays a wide repertoire from early Classicism and Romanticism to modernist masterpieces.

Central works that Aldubáran have performed in the Faroe Islands include Schubert’s Octet, Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Stravinsky’s Septet.

As well as many works commissioned from Faroese and foreign composers.

In 2003 a handful of these were released on the CD Dedicated (TUTL FKT 19), where Aldubáran play works by Hsueh-Yung Shen, Kristian Blak, Sunleif Rasmussen and Per Nørgård.

At the moment the ensemble is working with the first Faroese opera, which they have commissioned from Sunleif Rasmussen, winner of the Nordic Council’s Music Prize in 2002.

But the ensemble does not only play classical music. For example. they have collaborated with the folk singer Hanus G. Johansen, resulting in some very successful concerts and a very popular CD recording from these concerts.