Tora Augestad, mezzo-soprano. 　　Tora Augestad’s versatility inspires composers, theatre directors, conductors and fellow musicians. Her vocal capabilities defy easy classification, being flexible, expressive, precise, theatrically convincing, and with a rare personality. Augestad principally devotes herself to repertoire of the 20th and 21st centuries covering a wide range of styles. She regularly commissions new work, recently a chamber opera premiering at Bergen International Festival in 2015. Since 2010 she collaborates with the Swiss director Christoph Marthaler, spanning from a Beat Furrer opera to the playful combination of classical, jazz, cabaret, and pop music in Marthaler's own work. Augestad performs with ensembles like the Bergen and the Oslo Philharmonic, Ensemble Modern and Klangforum Wien. Born in Bergen 1979, she studied classical music and jazz in Oslo, Stockholm, Berlin and Munich before graduating in cabaret singing in Oslo. In 2004 she founded the ensemble Music for a while with performers of the Norwegian jazz scene. Her ensemble BOA explores the landscape between avantgarde and pop music. Tora Augestad is joint artistic director of the Hardanger Musikkfest.