FRODE THINGNÆS

Born: May 20th, 1940, Nore (Norway)

Died: November 15th, 2012, Oslo (Norway)

Nationality: Norwegian

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

 

Frode Thingnæs studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen before joining his professional career as a trombonist in many different Oslo big bands, including those of Kjell Karlsen and Bjørn Jacobsen. In 1960, he formed his Frode Thingnæs Kvintett. In that same year, he took up his first job as a conductor at the Chat Noir revue theatre. Later in his career, Thingnæs conducted the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK), the Defense Staff Marching Orchestra (FSMK), and the Kampen Janitsjar Orchestra. He composed, arranged, and produced music for many pop artists, including Lill Lindfors, Wenche Myhre, the Bodega Band, and Svante Thuresson. Moreover, he composed pieces which were performed at the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Frode Thingnæs composed songs which won the Norwegian preselections in 1974 and 1976; both ‘Hvor er du?’ (performed in English in the contest under the title ‘The First Day Of Love’) and ‘Mata Hari’ were performed by Anne-Karine Strøm, to whom he was married at that time. Thingnæs conducted the Eurovision orchestra on both occasions. Neither of these songs made any significant impact on the juries, finishing near the bottom of the scoreboard. 

In 1996, Thingnæs returned to the Eurovision stage, when the contest was held in Oslo and he was the musical director of the show, conducting his Norwegian Radio Orchestra; of course, he led the orchestra during the performance of the Norwegian entry, Elisabeth Andreassen’s ‘I evighet’, which came second.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1974 Brighton

Country – Norway

Song title – "The First Day Of Love (Hvor er du?)"

Rendition – Anne Karine Strøm & The Bendik Singers 

(Anne Lise Gjøstøl / Bjørn Kruse / Philip A. Kruse) 

Lyrics – Philip A. Kruse

Composition – Frode Thingnæs

Studio arrangement – Frode Thingnæs

Live orchestration – Frode Thingnæs

Conductor – Frode Thingnæs

Score – 14th place (3 votes)

1976 The Hague

Country – Norway

Song title – "Mata Hari"

Rendition – Anne Karine Strøm

Lyrics – Philip A. Kruse

Composition – Frode Thingnæs

Studio arrangement – Pete Knutsen

Live orchestration – Pete Knutsen

Conductor – Frode Thingnæs

Score – 18th place (7 votes)

1996 Oslo

Country – Norway

Song title – “I evighet”

Rendition – Elisabeth Andreassen

Lyrics – Torhild Nigar

Composition – Torhild Nigar

Studio arrangement – Rolf Graf

Live orchestration – Geir Langslet

Conductor – Frode Thingnæs (MD)

Score audio semi-final – none (host country)

Score – 2nd place (114 votes)