"Per Sæmund Bjørkum is a versatile violinist who combines folk music with classical performance on a high level. He has been associate professor in folk music at The Norwegian Academy of Music since 2004. He was educated at The Norwegian Academy of Music where he studied with Arve Tellefsen and Magnus Ericsson. He has been a member of The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra since 1990, and from 1997 has been employed as a first violinist with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. He has played a considerable amount of chamber music at festivals such as the Risør Chamber Music Festival, the Winter Play at Bergstaden and has been on several tours with Norsk Musikkantbruk."