KSO and Steamdome are teaming up this summer

“Ola Kvernberg aims to leave audiences breathless and speechless when the third edition of Steamdome hits the road in the summer of 2024. Backed by a symphony orchestra, the show will be bigger and more powerful than ever!”

This is how the press release begins, revealing the exciting collaboration between one of the country’s most critically acclaimed bands and one of its most up-and-coming symphony orchestras. Pål Svendsberget, director of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, is delighted to have secured this collaboration.

Energy Boost

– I firmly believe this will be a memorable experience for the orchestra, the band, and, not least, the audience. Being able to present this to the audience here in Southern Norway, and then head to the Oslo Jazz Festival the very next day, I hope will provide a great energy boost for both the audience and the musicians, which we can carry forward into a fantastic season program for the KSO,” says Svendsberget.

With Steamdome, Ola Kvernberg has, through two albums and euphoric concerts, truly made the leap from the refined jazz scene to club stages and dance floors. As he unleashes the third and, for now, final installment of the Steamdome beast, he does so without restraint in a project that has already proven itself to be even bigger, more powerful, and tougher.

Equal partnership

Nevertheless, he describes the collaboration between the band and the orchestra as 100 percent equal. The orchestra musicians shouldn’t be reduced to mere extras who provide a few nice chords while the band stands on the other side of the stage playing something cool.

“To me, all the musicians are like The Avengers, and it’s my job to discover the superpowers they possess. It would be a gross waste of resources either way—these are top-notch musicians at an extremely high level,” says Kvernberg.

Monumental

“Steamdome III: Beyond The End” had its monumental premiere in front of over 3,000 people at dusk in late summer 2023. In the medieval surroundings of Borggården in Trondheim, Ola Kvernberg concluded the Olavsfestdagene festival with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, breathing life into the project’s third chapter. In the summer of 2024, “Steamdome III” will be released as an album, and Ola Kvernberg’s massive machinery will hit the road. Together with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra.

The concert featuring Steamdome and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra will take place atperforming arts centre Kilden performing arts centre , August 15, and during the Oslo Jazz Festival on Friday, August 16.

Photo by Ola Kvernberg: Nina Djærff
Photo by Pål Svendsberget: Lars Gunnar Liestøl