The board of Notam has appointed Knut Olaf Sunde as its new artistic director and managing director.
Knut Olaf Sunde is a composer and, in 2020, completed a PhD in artistic development at the Norwegian Academy of Music, with the project Site Awareness in Music – recontextualising a sensation of another place. As a composer, his work has included site-specific pieces spanning long periods of time and vast geographical distances, and he often combines recordings of acoustic instruments with electronically processed material and soundscapes.
Knut Olaf Sunde is currently Chair of the Norwegian Composers’ Association. He will take up his post at Notam on 1 November 2026 and will ease into the role gradually until he begins working full-time in the spring of 2027, following the Composers’ Association’s annual general meeting. During the transition period, he will combine his leadership duties at Notam with the completion of his term of office at the Society.
– Notam is a national centre of excellence that combines innovative use of technology with art and music. The combination of resources for the independent arts sector on the one hand, research and development on the other, and collaboration with institutions both nationally and internationally on production and dissemination on the third, makes Notam a vital link that helps to push the boundaries of what is possible. “I look forward to continuing this work and striving to strengthen Notam as a powerhouse in the years to come,” says Knut Olaf Sunde.
The Board has carried out an extensive recruitment process and is delighted to welcome Sunde.
– We have met many strong candidates with diverse backgrounds and different perspectives on Notam’s potential for development. In Sunde, we are gaining a leader with a solid artistic foundation, research expertise and extensive experience of strategic and cultural policy work within the organisational sector. He has an extensive network and a good understanding of Notam’s unique role as a professional environment and resource for creative artists. We are delighted with Sunde’s strong commitment to Notam and look forward to getting started on this work together,” says Chair Stine Sørlie.
Sunde takes over from Christian Blom, who is taking up a postdoctoral position at the Norwegian Academy of Music after having led Notam for the past nine years.
Photograph by Knut Olaf Sunde: Renate Madsen.
