The award-winning Norwegian percussionist and cimbalist Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen is internationally recognised for his versatile and creative performances, never ceasing to control the colours, rhythms and harmonic possibilities that his percussion instruments have to offer. The Irish Times celebrated him as “probably the best-coordinated showman in the world”.

A profound advocate of contemporary music, Mr Sørensen has commissioned and premiered percussion concertos by composers Olga Neuwirth, Ørjan Matre, Rolf Wallin, Henrik Hellstenius, Lars Petter Hagen, Eivind Buene, Jon Øivind Ness and Svante Henryson. Olga Neuwirth´s concerto ”According to What” – a double-concerto for cello and percussion – was written for cellist Tanja Tetzlaff and HKKS as a joint venture commission by four orchestras in four countries.

HKKS has premiered music by composers such as Per Nørgård, Brett Dean, Johannes Harneit, Nils Henrik Asheim, Åse Hedstrøm, Øyvind Mæland and many others. He has been working closely with Iannis Xenakis, Sofia Gubaidulina, George Crumb, Dave Maric, Vinko Globokar, Georges Aperghis and John Adams.
HKKS has won numerous prizes including the CIEM competition in Geneva and he has been a soloist with orchestras like London Philharmonia, Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, RSO Vienna Radio Symphony, Stavanger Symphony, Kristiansand Symphony, Trondheim Symphony, Paris Chamber Orchestra, Gävle Symphony, The Norwegian Opera, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Allegria, Ensemble BIT20, Trondheim Soloists, Norwegian Soloist´s Choir, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Bern Opera, Lübeck Theatre et al. As a keen chamber musician, he has for more than two decades visited major festivals in Norway and Europe, such as Feldkirch, Schleswig-Holstein, Schwetzingen, Spannungen, Savannah, Aldeburgh, West Cork, Stavanger, Trondheim, Bergen, Risør, Mora, Ultima and Oslo Chamber Music.

Growing up close to the sea and mountains he has a free spirit and a sensational sensitivity for interpreting any kind of music, such as jazz with Misha Alperin, Bugge Wesseltoft and Arve Henriksen, music-theatre with composer Georges Aperghis, director Per Olav Sørensen, actor Klaus Maria Brandauer and his mentor Jean-Pierre Drouet, baroque music with violinist Daniel Hope and cembalist Kristian Bezuidenhout to classical performances with the likes of Tanja and Christian Tetzlaff, Martin Fröst, Sharon Kam, Ole Edvard Antonsen, Pekka Kuusisto and Lars Vogt.

HKKS has released both improvised and notated music in jazz, baroque and classical genres for ECM, BIS, DaCapo, Deutsche Grammophon, and his own label Ultron, with his latest recital album, Hearing Things. His former recital album OPEN won the Norwegian Grammy – Spellemannsprisen.

HKKS has a great interest in theatre. In August 2022, he shared the stage with esteemed actors like Dennis Storhøi, Aksel Hennie, Øystein Røger and Gjertud Jynge as a musician/actor/co-composer in the outdoor production of Henrik Ibsen´s Peer Gynt, directed by Per Olav Sørensen. 20.000 people attended the theatre during a week´s performances in the mountains of Gålå, Norway.

Hans-Kristian has composed music for film and theatre and has conducted the music of Lutoslawski, Vasks, MacMillan, as well as his own compositions with orchestras such as the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Dala Sinfonietta.
Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen studied in Oslo, Banff in Canada and in Versailles, France, with the legendary Sylvio Gualda. He has held a professorship at the Norwegian State Academy of Music, where he is currently teaching and is a sought-after teacher for masterclasses. Sørensen has been a recipient of the Norwegian State Grants since 2020.