Bjørg Lewis

Norwegian cellist Bjørg Lewis has performed in many of the world’s major concert halls, and is sought after both as a cello teacher and chamber music coach. She was artistic director of the Elverum Festival from 2000 until 2015, and is joint artistic director of Midsummer Music, a chamber music festival she founded together with her husband Paul Lewis.

Bjørg studied with Geir Tore Larsen at the conservatory in Oslo and later with Frans Helmerson at Edsberg Music Institute in Stockholm where she graduated with a soloist diploma in 1991. Other influential teachers have been Steven Isserlis, Ralph Kirschbaum and Mstislav Rostropovich.

Bjørg is a founder member of the Vertavo String Quartet which has taken her to some of the world’s prestigious venues including the Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Musikverein Vienna, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Köln Philharmonie, as well as Sydney Opera House and Tokyo’s Toppan Hall.

The Vertavo Quartet won the 1st Prize, Audience Prize and the Radio Listener’s Award at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition in 1995, and in 1996 the Quartet won 1st prize in the Nordic Chamber Music Competition in Copenhagen and the critic’s Prize in Oslo. The Quartet is also the recipient of the prestigious Grieg Prize. The Quartet won the Spellemannspris, a Norwegian Grammy, and a Diapason d’Or for their recording of the Grieg and Debussy Quartets.

Bjørg is a frequent guest at many of the world’s important festivals including the Schubertiade, Proms, Aldeburgh, Edinburgh, Cheltenham, Bath, Schleswig Holstein, Berliner Festspiele, Kuhmo and Risør where she has collaborated with musicians such as Antje Weithaas, Elizabeth Batiashvili, Martin Fröst, Leif Ove Andsnes, Yuri Lee, Alexandra Madzar, Kathryn Stott and Paul Lewis.

In October 2024 the Vertavo Quartet celebrates their 40th years anniversary and marks it with an event in the Oslo String Quartet Series.

Bjørg Lewis is currently Associate Professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music. She regularly teaches at masterclasses and is often invited on to the jury of competitions such as the ARD, London and Carl Nielsen International String Quartet Competitions.

She plays on a cello by Gennaro Gagliano from 1748, previously played by Martin Lovett of the Amadeus Quartet, provided by Dextra Musica AS. This company is founded by Sparebankstiftelsen DNB.