The Oslo Sinfonietta is a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 contemporary classical

Contemporary classical music

Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...

 orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

.

The Oslo Sinfonietta grew out of contemporary music circles at the Norwegian Academy of Music

Norwegian Academy of Music

The Norwegian Academy of Music is a music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the country's highest level of music education. As a university college, it offers both undergraduate and postgraduate...

. It was founded by composer Asbjørn Schaatun and since 1993 it has been organised as a pool of musicians comprising approximately 40 performers from the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra

The Oslo-Filharmonien is a symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra was founded in 1919, and has since 1977 had its home in the Oslo Concert Hall. The orchestra consists of 69 musicians in the string section, 16 in the woodwinds, 15 in brass, 5 in percussionists, 1 harpist, and 1...

, the Norwegian State Opera Orchestra, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra

Norwegian Radio Orchestra

The Norwegian Radio Orchestra is a Norwegian orchestra affiliated with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation . Its principal base is the Store Studio at the NRK headquarters in Oslo....

 and the freelance milieu. This open concept

Openconcept

Openconcept is a term generally used to describe a type of architecture which provides a lot of flexible space. There are a few general spaces that are defined using open-concept, see restroom, stairway and changeroom....

 allows for a variety of instrumental combinations and choice of repertoire. Oslo Sinfonietta is meant as a forum for innovative music, showcases important works composed during this century and has commissioned and premièred a number of new works by both Norwegian and foreign composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

s. It has held a number of concerts in Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, is one of the founders of the ULTIMA Oslo Contemporary Music Festival and has made several tours abroad.