The singer Benedicte Torget (b. 1971) entered the Norwegian
Broadcasting (NRK) Girl's Choir at the age of six. There she was
introduced to a wide range of music by Danish-Hungarian conductor
Marie Foss. Singing both simple children songs and compositions
by Zoltán Kodály, Fartein Valen and Knut Nystedt was like entering
an invisible bell of sound and light. And her father, an amateur
jazz pianist, accompanied her at local events when she still was
a little girl.
Educated in vocal jazz at Østlandets Music Conservatory and in the University of Oslo she has also drawn inspiration from various singing traditions, including 17th-century music, extended vocal techniques, and folk music. For more than two decades she has been singing and composing music for theatre, film and her own ensembles.
Benedicte has worked with breathing meditation according to Shunryu Suzuki's method for over 25 years. Her experiences from 7 years in full psychoanalysis learning about the relationship between body, voice and the language beyond our rational consciousness, form a basis for her music. In her improvisations, Benedicte Torget uses experiences from her work with theatre and delves into existential themes such as trust and emptiness , silence and transformation.
Benedice has released four albums on her label Present Recordings. The singer and composer's love for poetry led to the project and double album "Karin Boye songs", collaborating with composer and pianist Øystein Sevåg, for which they won the NOPA Music Prize Reward 2014.
In 2023, she established a new trio with internationally acclaimed musicians Arve Henriksen and Helge Lien, ccomposing music to lyrics by Norwegian post-war poet Astrid Tollefsen. Their debut album is set to be released by a Norwegian or international record label in 2025 (TBA).
Benedicte has held concerts in various venues in Norway, Denmark, Germany and Ukraine.
She has collaborated with several acknowledged musicians in Norway, such as Tord Gustavsen, Helge Norbakken, Gjermund Silset, Paolo Vinaccia, Øystein Sevåg, dancers and directors.
In the spring of 2024, she had a two-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, where she developed her work, composing and writing text for her projects.
She is currently the recipient of a three-year grant from the Norwegian Cultural Department as a singer.
