Musical education:
Øivind Farmen was born on the 14th of April 1972 in Tjølling, Norway. At present he lives at Selbu.
Eight years old he started playing the accordion with Gustav Schmidt in Sandefjord. He continued at Sandefjord Music School and the musics side of Sandefjord Grammar School (1988-1991) under Arne Kulsvehagen.
The last year at the grammar school and the following studies at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo (1991-1995) was made under Anders Grøthe in accordion and chamber music. He finished his conservatory studies with the highest grade, the top mark 1.0, both with regards to solo accordion and chamber music
Results from competitions:
1993: 1. prize in the prestigious accordion competition in Klingenthal, Germany.
1994: 2. prize in Premio Internazionale "Città di Castelfidardo" for concert soloists in Castelfidardo, Italy.
1996: 1. prize in Trofée Mondial de l'accordéon ("World Championships on the accordion") in Faro, Portugal.
In addition, Farmen has received many 1. prizes from the annual national competition by the Norwegian accordionists' association.
Musical experience:
In 1993 he started his international career as a concert soloist in Ukraine.
Since then he has made concerts in countries like Russia, Spain, France, Serbia, China, England, Poland, USA, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland.
He has been featured as a soloist with orchestras like Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Barratt Due's Chamber Orchestra, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, Bodø Sinfonietta, the Norwegian Royal Marine's Symphonic Band and the Royal Norwegian Air Force Band. He has collaborated with musicians as Øystein Baadsvik, Elise Båtnes, Ole Edvard Antonsen, Christian Eggen, Arne Nordheim, Øyvind Gimse, Ole Kristian Ruud, Stephan Barratt Due and Peter Szilway.
2008 he was nominated to the Norwegian Grammy in the folk music category together with the band Flukt, and in 2010 he was nominated in the contemporary music category with his solo production "Norwegian Safari".
In addition to his career as a soloist and chamber musician, the work of Farmen is very versatile. He tours regularly for the Norwegian Concert Institute and is often used as a session musician in various styles
Collaboration with composers:
Øivind Farmen regulary collaborates with composers writing new works. He has worked with different composers as e.g. Håkon Berge, Fred Nøddelund, Terje Bjørklund, Erlend Skomsvoll, Johan Kvandal, Morten Gaathaug and Sigmund Lillebjerka.
Teaching activities :
Since 1995 Farmen has been teaching at the Institute of Music at The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
