Lars Anders Tomter is considered one of the most outstanding violists of our time. Nicknamed “The Giant of Nordic Viola” by The Strad magazine, he was born in Hamar, Norway. He began studying violin and viola at the age of eight. He studied both instruments with Professor Leif Jørgensen at the Oslo Conservatory of Music and the Norwegian Academy of Music, later continuing his education with Professor Max Rostal and Sándor Végh.

His international solo career was launched in 1987 with a major tour of the USA and Germany alongside the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, and since then he has performed to critical acclaim across Europe and North America, in renowned venues such as Vienna’s Musikverein, New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, Berlin’s Konzerthaus, and Cologne’s Philharmonie.

Tomter has appeared as a soloist with leading orchestras including the BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, RSO Frankfurt, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, under conductors such as Marc Albrecht, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sylvain Cambreling, Dennis Russell Davies, Daniele Gatti, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Dmitri Kitaenko.

An avid chamber musician, Tomter regularly collaborates with renowned artists and is a familiar presence at major festivals such as the BBC Proms, Lockenhaus, Kissingen Sommer, Mondseetage, Schleswig-Holstein, Schwetzingen, Styriarte, Verbier, and several Scandinavian festivals.

He was Artistic Director of the Risør Chamber Music Festival in Norway and is currently the Artistic Director of the Norwegian Fjord Classics Festival.

His repertoire spans the entire core and contemporary viola literature, and he has recorded extensively for Simax, Naxos, Virgin Classics, NMC, Somm, and Chandos.

Lars Anders Tomter is Professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music and plays a remarkable viola built by Gasparo da Salò in 1590.