The Norwegian soprano, Ulla Westvik-Pilgrim, started her musical career early; at the age of 11, she made her stage debut as Amahl in Menotti’s opera Amahl and the Night Visitors with Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and the Norwegian State Opera. In 2002, she won the 1st Prize in the Norwegian young musicians competition. After finishing her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music (Classical Singing: August 2004-June 2008) at the Norwegian Academy of Music (Norges musikkhøgskole), she obtained her Master of Arts degree in Music Performance (Lied/Concert Singing: September 2008-2010/June 2012) at the Zürcher University of of Applied Arts (ZHdK Zürcher Hochschule der Künste), working with Professor Scot Weir, Professor Jill Feldman and Professor Hartmut Höll. In July 2012, she won the Dienemann Music Competition in Lucerne.
Ulla Westvik's repertoire stretches from early Baroque to contemporary music. In recent years, her concert activities have focused primarily on Central Europe, especially Switzerland. In her work as a Lieder, oratorio and opera singer, she sang the major roles from Monteverdi to contemporary music, working with ensembles such as the Kammerorchester Basel, Capricornus Consort Basel, Barockorchester Capriccio Basel, Zürcher Kammerorchester and Orchestra La Scintilla an der Oper Zürich. She is a member of various professional vocal formations such as the Zürcher Sing-Akademie (since August 2017; Director: Florian Helgath), Ensemble Vocal Origen, Larynx Vokalensemble and Chor der J.S. Bach-Stiftung St. Gallen (since 2022; Director: Rudolf Lutz). She has done several main roles in different opera productions in Switzerland, Norway and in Germany. She has also worked in project organization at Musik-Akademie der Stadt Basel (August 2017-November 2021) and Jugendjazzorchester (since August 2021). She currently lives in Basel, Switzerland. |