User:Therokkones/Ola Asdahl Rokkones

Ola Asdahl Rokkones (born 1983) is a Norwegian saxophonist living in Tromsø. He studied at the Music Conservatory of Tromsø, where he finished his bachelors degree in 2007 after studies with Vibeke Breian and John Pål Inderberg. In 2023 he finished his masters degree in classical saxophone, after studies with Lars Lien.

Rokkones is a full time performer of classical music,jazz and world music. Since 2023 he has been an official artist and ambassador for the instrument brand Henri Selmer Paris.

As a classical musician he has appeared as a soloist with several orchestras in Norway, Russia, Germany and France, among them Mariinsky Symphonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Arktisk Filharmoni, Karelian Philharmonic, Ensemble Opus Posth, Orchestre Régional de Normandie and El Perro Andaluz. He has commissioned and premiered music by numerous composers, such as Cristiano Melli, Anders Torgunrud Røshol, Agnes Ida Pettersen, Tine Surel Lange, Herborg Rundberg, Rakel Nystabakk, Terje Bjørklund, Alexander Aarøen, Helge Iberg, Kjell Habbestad, Martin Romberg, Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen, Erik Stifjell, Lars Skoglund, Håvard Lund, Bodvar Drotninghaug Moe, Alexander Manotskov and Bjørn Breimo. Rokkones is also a part of the chamber music ensemble Trio Brax, where he plays the tenor saxophone together with the viola player Julia Neher and the pianist Sergej Osadchuk. He also plays regularly together with the Austrian string ensemble Wiener Kammersymphonie.

As a jazz- and ensemble musician he is highly profiled through several groups, such as Marit Sandvik & Nova Onda, Mean Steel, Treskatresk, Mike del Ferro Quintet, Magyar Hot Club, and together with the French jazz band Verøna and the Bulgarian accordionist Martin Lubenov. In 2021 he was a part of the Nordnorsk Jazzensemble, premiering and touring the work Flora Eallin by Leagus, a work that was later recorded and released on Is it Jazz? Records. In 2010 he was selected as the Norwegian representative to the prestigious European Jazz Orchestra. Since 2019 he has been the musical director of the project Fargespill i Tromsø, and since 2023 he has contributed to theMidnight concert series in Tromsø Cathedral. He has previously cooperated with several dance- and theatre troops, among others the coreographers Silje Solheim Johnsen, Gerd Kaisa Vorren, and the theatre group Ferske Scener.

Since 2020 he has been leader for Nordnorsk Jazzforum and since 2022 he has been a board member of CREO Troms, Finnmark og Svalbard. He founded and was the director for the festival of Latin American culture No Siesta Fiesta from 2007 to 2012, and also director of the jazz festival Barentsjazz from 2008 to 2012, and from 2015 to 2016. He was also one of the founders of the record label Finito Bacalao Records, which he is still running. From 2008 to 2011 he worked at Kultur i Troms as one of their project leaders in the EU-funded project Music on Top, and from 2011 to 2014 he worked as a producer for theNorwegian Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra.

He is the son of Erik Rokkones and Anita Asdahl Hoff, and grandson of the doctor Ola Rokkones and of the politician and member of parliament Kristian Asdahl (H).

Discography

 * 2023 It is (Finito Bacalao Records) with Mean Steel
 * 2023 Stories From the North (Finito Bacalao Records) with Mathias Schultz Nilsen
 * 2023 Arctic Saxophone (LAWO) with Per Kristian Skalstad and Arktisk Filharmoni
 * 2023 Flora Eallin (Is it Jazz? Records) with LEAGUS and Nordnorsk Jazzensemble
 * 2023 Trio Brax (LAWO) with Trio Brax
 * 2019 Man in the sea (Finito Bacalao Records) with TRESKATRESK
 * 2019 Zwei-Mann-Orchester (Finito Bacalao Records) with Mean Steel
 * 2018 Norwegian Saxophone (LAWO) with Fabio Mastrangelo and St.Petersburg Northern Sinfonia
 * 2018 Autumn Sessions (Finito Bacalao Records) with Mike del Ferro Quintet
 * 2018 Flor (Finito Bacalao Records) with Marit Sandvik & Nova Onda
 * 2017 I denne søte juletid (TerjeB Productions) with the organist Terje Baugerød
 * 2013 Jazzpoetry (Finito Bacalao Records) with Cats vs. Kitchen Utensils & Easterine Kire
 * 2012 Son del Ecuador (Acustico) with Sonora Cimarrón
 * 2010 Pirate Bay (Finito Bacalao Records) with DripP

Prizes and awards

 * 2022: Grant from Ingerid, Synnøve og Elias Fegerstens Stiftelse
 * 2022: Grant from TONO
 * 2020: Grant from TONO
 * 2019: The Barents Grant, from the Joint Working Group on Culture / The Euro-Arctic Barents Region (awarded every 2nd year to 4 artists, one from each country)
 * 2018: Working grant from the Troms regional department (awarded to one musician every 5th year)
 * 2018: Grant from Norsk Jazzforum
 * 2018: Grant from TONO
 * 2015: Grant from Innovasjon Norge og Sparebankens Kulturnæringsstiftelse
 * 2013: Grant from Kulturnæringsstiftelsen INTRO.
 * 2012: The culture prize of Tromsø municipality.
 * 2007: Grant from Kavlifondet, and one of six finalists in "The Young Peoples Concert" in Bergen

Some reviews of the album Arctic Saxophone (2023)
"[...] Rokkones is a superb musician, equally at home in the worlds of classical and jazz. As previously mentioned, all three concertos were written for him, and he plays them with the utmost distinction. The Arktisk Filharmoni, “the world’s northernmost professional orchestra,” plays beautifully as well under the incisive direction of conductor Per Kristian Skalstad. The recorded sound is excellent. This is accessible and pleasing contemporary repertoire, performed with distinction. Recommended." Ken Meltzer, Fanfare Magazine - https://www.fanfarearchive.com/articles/atop/47_4/4740590.az_AAR_EN_Heart_It.html

''Saxophonist Ola Asdahl Rokkones and the string orchestra Arktisk Filharmoni invite us to perfect our curiosity through very recent, comfortable, melodious and euphonious music. [...] The soloist offers a generosity of timbres and imposes a confident sonic presence throughout, supported by a favorable sound recording; moreover, he injects the defended works with an undeniable force and precisely draws the contours of the played motifs which he amplifies with his generous timbre. [...] Each of these pieces of music is an invitation to enjoy melodious pages, often beautiful, always purposefully constructed and aimed at pampering the listener. [...] A pleasant musical journey towards skies that are by turns mild or simply rough.'' Jean-Luc Caron, ResMusica – Translated from French with Google Translate - https://www.resmusica.com/2023/11/06/arctic-saxophone-ola-asdahl-rokkones-arktisk-filharmoni-lawo/

''[…] Rokkones plays each work with consummate skill; he has a wonderfully warm tone and copes with the technical challenges of each piece with ease. The Arctic Philharmonic make ideal partners, a splendid body of strings scarcely any less in character or quality than their more famous rivals in Bergen or Oslo. A super disc, not in any way chilly!'' Guy Rickards, Gramophone - https://www.gramophone.co.uk/reviews/review?slug=aaroen-manotskov-bjorklund-arctic-saxophone-ola-asdahl-rokkones

Some reviews of the album Trio Brax (2023)
''[…] a beautiful sound world and they are beautifully recorded as well. […] The thing that really strikes me about the recording is just how good the playing is, all three of them are obviously great instrumentalists and they work beautifully together. […] The group craftsmanship is always excellent. […] If anyone is going to say who the Hindemith Trio is, its Trio Brax isn’t it.'' Stephen Osborne, BBC Radio 3

''These new compositions open new timbres, new combinations of colors, new dynamic explorations. Ranging from whimsical to expressive and virtuosic, these new works are each a delight of discovery. All are eminently accessible. [...] Performances by Trio Brax are engagingly filled with a lively energy, excellent ensemble, and great technical skill.'' Rushton Paul, Positive Feedback - https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/music-reviews/lawo-classics/

''Trio Brax is a crack ensemble, one that plays with captivating energy, precision, and an enthusiastic celebration of its chosen repertoire. The recording, made in the Sofienberg Church, Oslo, in February 2021, is excellent. [...] This is a first-rate disc. Enthusiastically recommended.'' Ken Meltzer, Fanfare Magazine - https://www.fanfarearchive.com/articles/atop/47_3/4734550.zz5_TRIO_BRAX_Julia_Neher.html

''[…] Above all, Habbestad’s fragrant, beguiling flower bouquet «Tres Flores» gets under your skin. His three movements «Saxifraga squarrosa», «Viola cornuta» and «Digitalis grandiflora» pay hommage to each of the three instruments in a playful way. But also Lund’s nature-mystical «The Magpie & I» and Iberg’s percussive «Ut å stjæle hester» based on Per Petterson’s nobel of the same name inspire all along the line. Hindemith’s repertoire classic ends up being the finale of the fantastic album.'' Burkhard Schäfer, FonoForum (DE)