Njord Kårason Fossnes (b. 2001) is a Norwegian violist and composer based in Copenhagen, with a growing international career, acclaimed for his versatility and exceptional gift for musical communication. He graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he studied with the renowned Kim Kashkashian, and is now pursuing a master’s degree at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen with Asbjørn Nørgaard, known from the Danish String Quartet.

Njord is a prizewinner in several national and international competitions, such as the Midgard Competition and the Virtuoso & BelCanto International Music Competition, and in 2021, he won second prize at the inaugural Hindemith International Viola Competition. At the age of 17, he achieved his international breakthrough as the youngest participant in the prestigious ARD Competition in Munich, where he also competed in 2023, performing and directing his own version of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with the Munich Chamber Orchestra. In addition, he has won the RDAM Soloist Competition with Walton’s Viola Concerto and was recently awarded the Reger Prize at the International Instrumental Competition Markneukirchen.

Njord has also appeared as soloist in Bartók’s Viola Concerto, Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante and Hindemith’s Kammermusik No. 5 with Peter Tilling and the Munich Symphony Orchestra, as well as Walton’s Viola Concerto with Giordano Bellincampi and the RDAM Symphony Orchestra, and

Kurt Atterberg’s Suite for Violin, Viola and Orchestra with violinist Gustav Rørmark and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. Beyond his solo career, Njord is a passionate chamber musician and frequently performs at renowned chamber music festivals in the USA and Europe, including Marlboro Music Festival, Cleveland ChamberFest, Caramoor Evnin Rising Stars, Oslo Chamber Music Festival, Fjord Classics, IMPULS Festival, and Festival & Friends. In 2023, he also competed with Quartet Luminera at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, where they won the silver medal.

Njord is often invited to perform with some of the most distinguished chamber orchestras in Europe, such as the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Bern, and Musica Vitae, leading to tours in Shanghai, Norway, Switzerland, and Sweden. From an early age, Njord has also been an avid composer. His works have been commissioned and performed at Ose Kammerspel in Sandane, and the PULSAR Festival in Copenhagen, and in 2018 his orchestral piece Etyde was premiered by the Oslo Philharmonic.

Njord performs on a 1743 Giovanni Battista Guadagnini viola, generously on loan from the Anders Sveaas’ Charitable Foundation.