biography
trumpeter – singer – songwriter
Since the beginning of her career, Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth has championed the trumpet repertoire amongst audiences on all six continents, meriting the highest critical praise for her soulful, lyrical sound and collaborative approach to music-making. An artist who challenges the boundaries of genre with an intensely creative, open-minded philosophy, Tine’s ever-expanding repertoire ranges from the classical period to contemporary works and new commissions.
Since 2023, Tine has served as Artistic Director of the Risør Chamber Music Festival, a festival with which she has enjoyed a close association for more than a decade. Throughout her career, she has been the recipient of numerous awards for her work in classical music, including “Newcomer of the Year” at the 2013 Echo Klassik Awards, the 2009 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, and second prize in the 2006 Eurovision Young Musicians Competition, to which Tine returned to serve as juror for the 2016 competition. In 2007, Tine had the rare honour of being the first ever classical artist to win Newcomer of the Year at the prestigious Spellemannprisen music awards in Norway.
In 2025/26, Tine continues to champion Doom Painting – new trumpet concerto written for her by Nico Muhly. Following successful European premieres with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra under Markus Poschner and with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under Hannu Lintu at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, she will premier the woek in Norway with the Oslo Philharmonic and Pekka Kuusisto, and in the UK with The Hallé Orchestra under Alpesh Chauhan. This season, Tine also makes highly anticipated returns to the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin with Sebastian Weigle, Konzerthausorchester Berlin with Aziz Shokhakimov, Zurich Chamber Orchestra at Tonhalle Zurich, and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra with Elias Grandy. She will additionally perform with the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana in Palermo and the Teatro Petruzzelli Orchestra in Bari.
A sought-after soloist, Tine has appeared with leading orchestras including the Bamberger Symphoniker, NDR Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony at the Proms, the Warsaw, Oslo, Bergen and Helsinki Philharmonics, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic,
as well as the Seattle, Minnesota, Baltimore, and Cincinnati symphonies, Singapore Symphony, KBS Symphony, and Hong Kong Philharmonic. She also collaborates frequently with distinguished chamber ensembles such as the Norwegian, Zurich, and Munich Chamber Orchestras, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta.
Tine continues regular tours with her ten-piece, all-female brass ensemble tenThing. An idea which started in 2007 as a fun and exciting project to pursue with her closest musical friends, the group have gone on to play to numerous audiences across Europe, USA and China. Past festival appearances include the BBC Proms, Schleswig-Holstein, Beethoven Bonn, Gstaad, MDR Musiksommer, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Rheingau, Merano, Thüringer Bachwochen, and Bremen.
Complimenting her live performances, Tine records for Norwegian label LAWO. Her latest release She Composes like a Man recorded with tenThing Brass Ensemble and released in April 2024, features a carefully crafted programme of only female composers, each piece masterfully arranged by Jarle Storløkken. It is preceded by album Seraph (Nov’22) which gained worldwide recognition including a 5* review from the BBC Music Magazine. Her disc Magical Memories for Trumpet and Organ (May’21) was Gramophone’s “Editor’s Choice” recording in August 2021 and received 5* review from BBC Music Magazine. Earlier recordings include concertos by Haydn, Albioni, Neruda and Hummel with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra (for label SIMAX), Storyteller disc with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (on EMI Classics), a self-titled CD in March 2013, presenting a personal selection of original and transcribed works accompanied by pianist Kathryn Stott, and an album with tenThing Brass Ensemble (both on Warner Classics).
Tine resides in Oslo and maintains an active role in her community as a regular TV and radio presenter, and teaches trumpet at the Norwegian Academy of Music. An all-round musician, she also regularly performs in some of the most iconic jazz bars in Norway. In June 2013, Tine launched her own project, Tine@Munch, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Edvard Munch, featuring a variety of performances and guest artists such as Leif Ove Andsnes, Nicola Benedetti, and Truls Mork.