Sarah-Jane Summers & Juhani Silvola announce their chamber orchestra album

Sarah-Jane Summers & Juhani Silvola

Sarah-Jane Summers & Juhani Silvola have created their own chamber orchestra Sølvstrøk (Silverstroke), consisting of a dream team of Norwegian folk & classical musicians, with a punchy & nuanced sound. Each track takes a tune as its starting point (five self-composed & five traditional), which Summers/Silvola recomposed & expanded into refined string arrangements, focusing on the rhythmic drive & distinctive melodies of Scottish & Norwegian folk music, classical harmonies, and contemporary music colour.

“I always dreamt of ‘super-sizing’ our music for chamber orchestra, and when I was heavily pregnant, we went to see Oslo Chamber Orchestra. Afterwards, I said I wanted to write for them. So, we did! We played together at Oslo World Festival; what a joy! Førdefestivalen then got in touch and suggested we create a chamber orchestra of primarily traditional musicians for the 2021 festival, and Sølvstrøk was born”, explains Sarah-Jane.

Summers & Silvola is an internationally acclaimed Scottish/Finnish duo, who celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2021. All three of their duo albums received Top of the World from Songlines; their latest was nominated for a Norwegian Grammy in 2022. Summers is one of Scotland’s foremost fiddlers & a tradition bearer of the old Highland style. She has a master’s degree in Norwegian folk music & improvisation from the Norwegian Academy of Music, has released five solo albums & played with GRIT Orchestra, RANT & Quatuor Bozzini. Silvola is a sought-after guitarist, renowned composer of electro-acoustic contemporary music, and record producer. He has released five solo albums, toured with the Nils Petter Molvær Group and plays with Susanna Wallumrød and Frode Haltli’s Avant Folk.

LINEUP:

Sarah-Jane Summers – fiddle, composition, arrangement
Juhani Silvola – acoustic guitar, composition, arrangement

Sølvstrøk:

Fiddle:  Olav Luksengård Mjelva, Bjørn Kåre Odde, Kevin Henderson, Vegar Vårdal, Selma French Bolstad, Erlend Viken Viola: Mari Giske, Lise Voldsdal
Cello: Gregor Riddell, Kaja Fjellberg Pettersen
Double Bass: Ellen Brekken

Artists’ website: https://www.sarah-janesummers.com/solvstrok

‘Morning Prayer’ – live: