We welcome you to a beautiful and moving concert where rhythmic, harmonic structures and ornamentation from the Ottoman Empire meet related harmonic structures from the folk musical tradition of Haugian in Vestfold, and the whole thing is framed by poetry that celebrates human dignity, freedom and love. 

Doors open at 6 pm
Concert starts at 7 pm
Free admission

“ This is the world.
More beautiful than what we like to know,
and more fragile,
more fragile than I can bear” 

In the fall of 2026, Liv Runesdatter celebrates 25 years as a singer, composer and creative artist! For the anniversary tour, she has invited an international cream of musicians, and free city writer Mansur Rajih. Mansur Rajih and Liv Runesdatter's collaboration spans twelve years, and Liv's music to Mansur's poetry has been presented through more than 350 concerts in Europe, the Middle East and the Caucasus, in collaboration with musicians from Azerbaijan, Syria, Iran, Baluchistan, Palestine, Lebanon and Norway. 

On stage: 

Mansur Rajih – recitation
Liv Runesdatter – vocals
Ahmad Al-Khatib – oud
Torben Snekkestad – saxophone and clarinet
Andreas Bratlie – percussionist
Harpreet Bansal – violin
Svante Henryson – cello

— 

Throughout a critically acclaimed, award-winning and versatile career, Liv Runesdatter has created, produced and performed a wide range of artistic projects. She tours extensively around the world and has collaborated with artists from more than 30 different countries. With a deep fascination for sound and voice, Runesdatter works primarily within contemporary music, classical music, ballads and folk music.

Mansur Rajih came to Norway from Yemen as Norway's first free city writer almost 25 years ago. He has been a political prisoner for 15 years, but was also referred to as Yemen's national poet in modern times. Since his release, he has worked both as a poet and human rights activist, and he has published four critically acclaimed poetry collections in Norwegian. The latest poetry collection, "Where the Trees Stood," was published in the fall of 2021.

The renowned oud player Ahmad Al Khatib is from Palestine, but was born and raised in a refugee camp in Jordan, where his family has lived since they were forced to flee in the 1960s. He began learning the oud at an early age and after completing his studies, he moved to Ramallah to play and teach. In 2002, the political situation forced him to leave Palestine, and in 2004 he settled in Sweden, where he currently works as a teacher and lecturer at the University of Gothenburg. He has collaborated with many of the leading representatives of Arabic music, released many albums, and has toured the Middle East, India, the USA, Europe and Brazil.

Award-winning violinist and composer Harpreet Bansal finds her expression at the intersection of the West and the East. She has released several albums and was nominated for the Norwegian Spellemann for her EP “States of Mind”.  

Saxophonist Torben Snekkestad has played with several of the leading European orchestras and a wide range of improvisational music/jazz collaborations. He was a long-time resident of Copenhagen and is now a professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music.

Percussionist Andreas Bratlie is a versatile and innovative musician who seamlessly moves between different genres. 

Svante Henryson is a unique musician, Swedish cellist and bassist, recipient of the Nordic Council Music Prize.