Masterlärare 2026!
Även denna sommar har vi glädjen att bjuda in två masterlärare, en på gitarr och en på luta, till festivalen, som äger rum söndag 26 juli till lördag 1 augusti.
Gitarrist Kristina Vårlid och lutenist Nigel North medverkar med konsert och masterclass.
Kristina Vårlid
The classical guitar is a magical treasure for the Norwegian guitarist Kristina Vårlid. Fascinated by the big variety of sound you can produce with the guitar, she likes to explore and go beyond its boundaries. As a musician, she looks at music thinking everything is possible, she loves discovering new ideas with her creative approach to the repertoire and make it her own.
In 2023, Vårlid released a very personal album, «5 Stages of Grief», in memory of Sabrina Vlaskalic (1989-2019) with Simax Classics. «I am often moved by music, but here I am shaken in a much deeper sense than usual. It’s a powerful experience.» – Ange Turell, Gitarr och Luta Magazine
Kristina’s debut album ”An Idea” was released in 2019 with Simax Classics. The album received excellent reviews and was named Norwegian Classical Album of the Year 2019 by Klassekampen: «This is quite a debut: Luxuriantly interpretative and varied in tone and shape, through musicianship that takes your breath away.» (Klassekampen). A new album with the same label will release in 2026!
Kristina is passionate about performing, in close contact with the audience. She has given solo recitals in several major halls and festivals, among others The Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Universitetets Aula in Oslo and Koblenz International Guitar Festival. She has also appeared as a soloist with Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra among others. In 2022, Kristina fulfilled her dream of meeting and performing at the same concert as her idol, Kazuhito Yamashita, at Shirakawa Hall in Nagoya, Japan.
Kristina is an internationally acclaimed classical guitarist after winning several competitions and awards. Among others she got the 1st prize in Antwerpen International Guitar Competition 2017 and was named the best music student in The Netherlands the same year when she won Grachtenfestival Conservatorium concours. In 2018 she became a part of the prestigious «Walk of Fame» at the Hanze University in Groningen and was one of the winners for «De Unges Konsert» with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.
Kristina teaches at the Prince Claus Conservatoire in Groningen where she became a professor of guitar at the age of 24. Since August 2025, she is also teaching at the University of Agder in Norway where she is also a PhD fellow in artistic research. She has been the artistic director of the Dutch Guitar Foundation since 2019. In 2021, 2022 & 2025 Kristina received the Norwegian State Artist Work Grant for Young and Emerging Artists.
She got her first guitar when she was 6 years old, and started lessons at the age of 8. In 2013 she started her bachelor at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland studying with professor Allan Neave. The following year Kristina continued her studies with Sabrina Vlaškalić at the Prince Claus Conservatoire in Groningen, The Netherlands. She graduated her bachelor degree in 2017 with the highest mark and cum laude. She further continued her studies in Oslo with the artist diploma degree at the Norwegian Academy of Music with professor Erik Stenstadvold and professor Otto Tolonen.
Kristina plays on a guitar made by Andrés D. Marvi and has been a D’Addario artist since 2019.
Nigel North
Born in London, England, Nigel North has been playing the lute for over 50 years, since the age of 15. Teaching and playing have gone hand in hand and he has been Professor of Lute at the Historical Performance Institute (formerly Early Music Institute), Indiana University, Bloomington (USA) 1999–2024. From July 2024 he was thrilled to return to Europe, and now lives in Gent, Belgium. Previous positions include The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London (1976–1996), Hochschule der Künste, Berlin (1993–1999) and the Royal Conservatory, Den Haag, (2006–2009).
Initially inspired at the age of seven by the early 60s’ instrumental pop group The Shadows, Nigel North studied classical music through the violin and guitar and eventually discovered his real path in life, the lute. Nigel is basically self-taught on the lute and was inspired by Michael Schäffer, Gustav Leonhardt and the jazz duo, Tuck and Patti. The music of Bach has always been his first love in music, especially after a dream at age 12 in which Bach handed him a lute.
After hearing one of Nigel’s Bach recitals in London, Julian Bream recalled in 2002 ”I remember going to a remarkable recital, one which I wish I had the ability to give: it was one of Nigel North’s Bach recitals, and I was bowled over by how masterful and how musical it was. A real musical experience, something you don’t always get from guitar and lute players and which, in general, is pretty rare.”
Nigel North wrote Continuo playing on the Lute, Archlute and Theorbo (Faber, 1986 and Indiana University Press). More recently in 2024, Le Luth Dore (Paris) published Bach on the Lute, volumes 1 and 2. Transcriptions for baroque lute of BWV 1001–1006, 1007–1012 and the complete works for lute, BWV 999–1006a. 2026 will see his latest book, Playing with Patterns: 16th century divisions on the lute (Oxford University Press).
Recordings include a four CD boxed set Bach on the Lute (Linn Records), four CDs of the lute music of John Dowland (Naxos), four CDs of music by Sylvius Weiss (BGS) and 2 CDs of music by Francesco da Milano (BGS). Most recently for ”Deux-Elles,” a double CD of Bach’s complete works for lute and other new transcriptions (April 2023).
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