Norwegian World Orchestra – NOWOR

Norwegian World Orchestra is an ensemble founded and led by Javid Afsari Rad. He is composer and arranger and plays the Persian santur. The orchestra consists of eleven musicians with very diverse musical backgrounds — a classical string quartet and six world musicians with roots from Iran, Morocco, India, Ivory Coast and Senegal. With this instrumentation it is safe to say that the orchestra sounds like no other. It both represents Javid’s dream project and sums up his musical career, and it includes musicians with whom he has collaborated over a long period of time in projects such as Rumi Ensemble and Combo Nations. Norwegian World Orchestra can rightfully be called a supergroup made up of musicians who are the best on their respective instruments, in Norway as well as in an international context.

NOWOR is a flexible orchestra, varying in its instrumentation from concert to concert, and often inviting guest soloists, such as Unni Løvlid and Trygve Seim. And in a festival setting, for example, it can offer several concerts by splitting into smaller ensembles (solo acts, duos, trios — or Rumi Ensemble and ComboNations).

Members of the orchestra are:
Javid Afsari Rad   santur, artistic director
Jai Shankar   tablas
Diom de Kossa  percussion
Solo Cissokho   kora
Aissa Tobi   sintir, rabab
Harpreet Bansal  violin
Minna Elina Fors or Sara Övinge   violin
Emilie Heldal Lidsheim   violin
Bendik Foss  viola
Tove Margrethe Erikstad   cello
Terje Wessel Øverland   sound technician
Guest soloists: Unni Løvlid   vocal
Trygve Seim   saxophones