Per Kristian Skalstad is a highly versatile conductor and violinist. He has been a regular member of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra since 1988, and also has 16 years behind him in the Oslo String Quartet and 12 years as Associate Concertmaster (2nd concertmaster) in the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra.
Since 2002 he has also pursued an extensive conducting career.
In recent years he has appeared as a guest with, among others, the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, the Finnish National Ballet, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, the Trondheim Soloists, the Norwegian Wind Ensemble, the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, the Telemark Chamber Orchestra and the Arctic Philharmonic.
Skalstad conducts regularly the Norwegian National Ballet. Since 2004 he has led around 35 productions, in works such as Giselle, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Carmen, The Rite of Spring and Don Quixote. He has also conducted ballets by Balanchine, Kylián, Forsythe and Lightfoot/Leon, in addition to several world premieres, including A Swan Lake by Ekman/Karlsson.
He made his debut with the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen in 2022, and also conducts for the Finnish National Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater.
Per Kristian Skalstad is an active opera conductor, and has led productions of, among others, The Marriage of Figaro, La clemenza di Tito, Dido and Aeneas, La Cenerentola, Carmen, Rigoletto and Brittens "Let’s Make an Opera".
He has also conducted newly written operas, including Heksene (The Witches) by Marcus Paus, Kiberg-odysseen (The Kiberg Odyssey) by Trygve Brøske and Querini-operaen (The Querini Opera) by Henning Sommerro.
He conducted the world premiere of Bent Sørensen’s Second Piano Concerto with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra (DNK) in 2009, and has since performed the work at the Bergen International Festival, the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and at the Ojai Music Festival in California, USA. In 2018 he conducted the recording of this concerto with Leif Ove Andsnes and DNK, as well as Sørensen’s Trumpet Concerto with Tine Thing Helseth. Skalstad has also conducted the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra in concerts at Wigmore Hall, London, and at Carnegie Hall, New York.
Per Kristian Skalstad is the artistic director of the Telemark Chamber Orchestra, an ensemble with a primary focus on contemporary music.