Sunnmøre Kristlige Ungdomskor, SKRUK

This Norwegian choir is with its unique sound and repertoire, recognized as one of the leading choirs in Scandinavia. During the past 33 years its members have toured Norway regularly, giving concerts in hundreds of churches throughout the country, and performed at Norway's most important music festivals. The choir has frequently appeared on national TV, and its recordings are regularly played on all Scandinavian radio stations. SKRUK has also been on tours in other Scandinavian countries, the USA, Ecuador and Azerbaijan.

SKRUK is well known for its many cultural exchange projects, and is constantly taking on new and exciting challenges. So far, their 21 albums have been released on several continents which in 2003 lead to SKRUK receiving the exclusive Bektas Ozen folk music award in Turkey for their record "Landet vi kommer fra." In addition, the choir has on several occasions been nominated for the Norwegian Grammy, Spellemannsprisen.

The Director Per Oddvar Hildre is often referred to as "a choir magician." Since 1980 he has been working as a full time choir conductor, continuously inspiring choirs and conductors in Scandinavia through seminars and master classes. His biography was published in December 2006 in Norway.

Remarkably SKRUK has been able to maintain its characteristic sound from the first recording in 1977 until today, despite the fact that more than half of the choir members have been replaced during the past 10 years. This is above all thanks to the conductor's focus on selecting and mixing the right voices for the ensemble, and to his interpretation skills. Today SKRUK numbers 50 voices.

As well as working closely with respected Norwegian musicians the choir has always presented a broad a cappella repertoire, specially arranged for them by contemporary composers.