Tuva Halse

Biography

Tuva Halse (b. 1999) is an improvising violinist and composer from Molde, Norway. In 2022 she completed her bachelor's degree in performing jazz violin at the Conservatory in Trondheim, before proceeding to the masters program at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. She has already played at several of the main jazz stages in Norway with her own and others' projects, including names such as Mathias Eick, Tord Gustavsen and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, in addition to contributing to a number of releases in different genres (Marstein, Daniela Reyes, Trond Kallevåg). With a background as a classical violinist, she creates music at the intersection between Nordic jazz and classical art music.

In May 2024 she was awarded the NTNU ambassador price during Trondheim Jazzfestival, commended for “a rare courageous sensitivity in tone and way of playing”. Later that year, she received the #huninvesterer grant from DNB and Kongsberg Jazz Festival, which resulted in the commissioned work Air Music that premiered at the festival in 2025 with Håkon Kornstad as a special guest.

She has also received several other talent prices (Sparebanken Møre, Sparebanken SMN, Handelsbanken, Drømmstipendet), and the summer of 2022 her trio Bento Box were finalists in Jazzintro - the selection of "young jazz musicians of the year" during Molde International Jazz Festival. The same year she was a young artist-in-residence during the classical arts festival Fjord Cadenza, playing solo, with the trio and also composing a commissioned work for an orchestra. Previously referred to as a "down-to-earth, sneaker-wearing master violinist" (Audun Vinger, Jazz i Norge), she has made a name for herself both through her presence on stage as well as her melodic compositions.