Astrid Kvalbein

Astrid Kvalbein (born 13 October 1971 in Oslo) is a Norwegian soprano, music critic and musicologist, and was elected rector of the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2021.[1] She is well known as the long-time classical music critic of Norway's two largest newspapers, Aftenposten and Verdens Gang. She earned her doctorate at the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2013 with a dissertation examining the work of Pauline Hall (1890–1969) as a classical composer,[2] and subsequently worked as a senior researcher at the institution until her 2021 election as its rector, its highest position. As a performer Kvalbein has been a member of contemporary and avant-garde music groups Søyr, vonDrei (with Solveig Slettahjell and Ellen Aagaard) and asamisimasa.[3][4][5]