Norwegian artist Terje Isungset is the world’s only ice musician, and has been so for the past 10 years. CNN has a feature on him:
He’s played concerts inside frozen waterfalls, on top of 3,000 meter high glaciers and inside massive ice-domes — at temperatures as low as -33 degrees Celsius.Although it may sound strange, for Terje Isungset, the world’s first and only ice musician, these conditions are all part of the job.
The Norwegian-born musician has been playing ice instruments for over 10 years and is the founder of Norway’s annual Ice Music Festival in Geilo. His love of ice music began in his 20s when he was invited to play at a concert inside a frozen waterfall.
“As a composer I decided to work with the nature surrounding me and I tried out ice instruments for the first time,” said Isungset.
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“I have challenged friends of mine to perform on ice and given them ideas of what to do. I’ve made ice guitars, ice marimbas, an iceridoo (didgeridoo) and traditional Norwegian langeleiks,” he said.
Rather than having a favorite instrument, Isungset says he takes joy in finding ice in nature that can “sing.”
“When I can find a piece of ice that can sing for a very long time, it’s special. The longest tone I have made from hitting a piece of ice is about 15 seconds. It’s very unique.”
But perhaps the most extraordinary of all Isungset’s instruments was his 2,500-year-old ice horn, carved from a glacier in Norway. It lasted only 50 performances, but by ice standards that’s a long time.
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But after all the hard work, no matter how perfect the quality of the ice or how well it is shaped, every concert is in the hands of nature says Isungset.
“Every concert is unique and it’s nature that defines your performance. Nature decides the sound of the instruments on the day.”
This is how it sounds:
More videos here. Isungset is currently touring through Europe and will tour the U.S. next year.
Some “cool” photography of Isungset and his instruments:
















Iceridoo ftw.