Over 20 world premieres and commissions in this year’s programme

This year, the Ultima Festival presents a rich and diverse programme of newly created music and sound art from around the world.

A total of twenty-one new works will be premiered or performed for the first time in Norway. Twelve of these are commissioned by Ultima, and eleven will receive their world premiere during the festival. Thirteen of the works are by Norwegian composers.

Audiences can experience everything from performance and sound installations to instrumental music, music theatre, ballet, and opera.

Remember, you can get 35% off more than 20 events at the Ultima Festival with a membership!

Opening Ultima 2025

The festival opens with City Lines by Joanna Bailie—a new commission from Ultima in which the sounds of the city meet the solo voices of Oslo Cathedral Choir. The piece sets the tone for this year’s festival theme, which explores the space between the individual and the collective.

See the whole festival programme for 2025.

Commissioned by Ultima

This year’s Ultima commissions include new works by Rolf-Erik Nystrøm, Tim Cooper and Hilde Marie Holsen in An Evening of Sound at the Museum; four new pieces for Cikada, including works by Kim Myhr and Angelica Castelló, in Four Compositions on Francis Alÿs’ Children’s Games; new works by Alexander Khubeev and Golnaz Shariatzadeh in Don’t Leave the Room; and the double concerto …And Fear of Loss Will Not Oppress Your Heart by Henrik Hellstenius.

The programme also features the sound installations Jet Whistles / The Grand Exhalation by Johannes Kreidler and Labyrinthic Explanation of Knowledge by Ewa Jacobsson and Hilde Marie Holsen.

Several commissions are the result of national and international collaborations, with partners including Cikada, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK), NOTAM, Oslo Cathedral Choir, Concertgebouw Brugge, Festival Musica Strasbourg, Gaudeamus, Nadar Ensemble, Northern Connection, Warsaw Autumn and Wien Modern.

World premieres at Ultima

Among other major works receiving their world premiere are DRAGONBLOOD by ONLY SLIME; all be, all play, all slaughter by Bára Gísladóttir; HISTORY DOES NOT EXIST by Trond Reinholdtsen/The Norwegian Opra; the opera and ballet production Jocasta’s Line by Sir Wayne McGregor; and the children’s performance Fantasmagoria by Tormod Lindgren.

The concert concept Liquid Room comes to Norway for the first time—with Liquid Room XII: A Perfect Life performed by Ictus, Ensemble Contrechamps, Eivind Buene and POING.

In addition, more than ten works will have their Norwegian premiere during the festival, including Elja by Kristine Tjøgersen and Benedicte Maurseth, Navigations by Arturas Bumšteinas, and After SFX by Lawrence Abu Hamdan.

Ultima Festival 2025 takes place in Oslo 11–20 September.