Hedvig Haugerud won 1 million!
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Live Klassisk2 min read|15. January 2026
The soprano Hedvig Haugerud is this year's recipient of NOK 1 million from the Equinor Scholarship.
About the winner
Hedvig was born in Oslo in 1994 and has already begun to make a big career, both internationally and in Norway. Jury chair Leif Ove Andsnes describes her like this:
She has great warmth and impact both vocally and artistically, and she works on her voice in a very wise and thoughtful way. Haugerud is aiming for the dramatic soprano repertoire and seeks out good guidance to stand as well as possible in this demanding field. She is a voice for the future, an artist who will be able to appear on our biggest opera and concert stages, nationally and internationally.
The nominees
The scholarship is awarded annually and this year's nominees were Hedvig Haugerud, Julie Røssland, Rasmus Hella Mikkelsen and Victoria Randem.
Previous recipients of the prize include the current jury chair, Leif Ove Andsnes (1990), Ole Edvard Antonsen, Henning Kraggerud and others.
A controversial scholarship?
Hedvig was born in Oslo in 1994 and has already begun to make a big career, both internationally and in Norway. Jury chair Leif Ove Andsnes describes her like this:
She has great warmth and impact both vocally and artistically, and she works on her voice in a very wise and thoughtful way. Haugerud is aiming for the dramatic soprano repertoire and seeks out good guidance to stand as well as possible in this demanding field. She is a voice for the future, an artist who will be able to appear on our biggest opera and concert stages, nationally and internationally.
The nominees
The scholarship is awarded annually and this year's nominees were Hedvig Haugerud, Julie Røssland, Rasmus Hella Mikkelsen and Victoria Randem.
Previous recipients of the prize include the current jury chair, Leif Ove Andsnes (1990), Ole Edvard Antonsen, Henning Kraggerud and others.
A controversial scholarship?
The long-established scholarship (formerly the Statoil Scholarship) has been awarded since 1990. For a long time two scholarships were awarded - one to a classical music talent, and one to a rock/pop group. The latter scholarship was, however, discontinued in 2013 after controversies over both contract wording and ethical dilemmas for the artists linked to environmental engagement. Equinor has said that the criticism had nothing to do with this scholarship being discontinued, but we note that there has apparently never been any debate in the classical music world about the scholarship...
Photo: Arne Reidar Mortensen / Equinor
Photo: Arne Reidar Mortensen / Equinor