Hemsing Festival

The Hemsing Festival takes place annually in Aurdal – a small village in the mountains of Valdres, with around 700 inhabitants and great cultural traditions. This is a place where both Edvard Grieg and Knut Hamsun, amongst others, got their inspiration from the beautiful nature, and Frydenlund Skysstasjon was for many years an important meeting place for artists from all over the country.

The musical sisters Ragnhild and Eldbjørg Hemsing grew up in this village, and were both introduced to classical and folk music at an early age. Today, they are both internationally renowned artists, who consider the whole world as their workspace. The sisters view the communication of the magical power and depth of music to an audience to be one of the greatest pleasures of performing arts. This is what inspired them to establish their own international chamber music festival in the village where they grew up. Their wish is to transfer some of their own expertise back to this community, and with that, see how music can affect the community, and create an identity and a sense of belonging.