It has been said that Stian Westerhus has little, or no respect for his guitar, but it can surely be argued that he has no respect for music in general!
Stian Westerhus has been at the tip of the spear of his generation for the last twenty years pushing boundaries and stretching the perception of our musical heritage.
Intimately played, like a part of his own body, Stian’s expressive playing and vocals breaks down the barriers of the electric guitar and the lone performer and bends musical meaning.
Westerhus is best known for his solo performances, but has also been a highly sought after musician for many years and has played with Ulver, Pale Horses, Monolithic, Supersilent, John Paul Jones, Puma, Jaga Jazzist, Nils Petter Molvær, Sidsel Endresen, Punkt, Arve Henriksen, Warped Dreamer, Motorpsycho, Fire!, Colin Stetson, EX EYE, Thomas Lehn, Marcus Schmickler, Jennifer Walshe, Maja Ratkje, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Philharmonie Zuidnederland and many many more.
Westerhus has released highly acclaimed solo albums on Rune Grammofon and House of Mythology with several releases receiving awards and norwegian grammy nominations.
Stian Westerhus is also a highly sought after composer and has written commissioned works for Britten Sinfonia (UK), Trondheim Jazz Orchestra (N), Philharmonie Zuidnederland (NL), ULTIMA festival (N) and more.
Westerhus has also collaborated with visual artists like AK Dolven and others, with works displayed at Tate Modern (UK), Galleri OSL (N), OCAT Shanghai (CN) and Galleri Anhava, Helsinki (FI).
Westerhus also works with film and photo, and has a recordingstudio, Pitch Black Star Spangled Studio, in Oslo.
Stian Westerhus has a PhD in Artistic Research from NTNU, Trondheim (N) and sometimes does workshops and seminars.
Stian Westerhus will perform on October 8, the final day of the festival, – it is a free-entry concert, organized in collaboration with LYRA, a project for kids and teens that is supported by the EEA Grants and Norway Grants funded by Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway.
LYRA receives grants in the amount of EUR 206,256.00 within the framework of the EEA Grants and Norway Grants funded by Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway. The project aims to introduce kids and teenagers to experimental music and to get them involved in its creation. As it is democratic and non-hierarchical in essence, experimental music gives trained and untrained kids the chance to take part in making music. Since the project crosses social and ethnic divides, it is also socially inclusive.
Total LYRA eligible costs: EUR 202,510.00, European Economic Area financial instrument programme Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Culture Cooperation support sum: 85% or EUR 85,000.00, of which:
- European Economic Area financial instrument co-financing: 85% or EUR 175,317.60;
- State Budget co-financing: 15% or EUR 30,938.40.
