Marie: Hello Thomas, I’m delighted to welcome you onto my website. We’ve met once before at Sunnaas Hospital and have been touched by listening to your opera. So I’m happy to get the opportunity today to ask you some questions.

You’ve been a musician , and a singer for many years now. I’ve read that you indeed studied Music at the University of Oslo from your early age. Tell us about your background. Have you got musicians into your family and how did you decide to become a composer?

TS : My mother is a classical singer, and has performed in The Norwegian Opera, so it was only natural for me to sing and play the piano from an early age. I soon started writing my own melodies and lyrics, I think I was about nine years old at the time. Later on I performed in several musical plays in Oslo, such as “Oliver”, “Sound of Music” and “Bugsy Malone”. After studying musical-performing at Norwegian School of performing Arts (“Bårdar”) in Oslo, I also started study classical music, composition and singing, at the University of Oslo and at the Music Conservatory in Trondheim.

Marie: Your first album “Colony” released in Norway in 2002. Chinese Television used the song “Angel of life” for a TV series based on the story of Mark Wong and Kjetil Moe. Can you talk about your encounter with Mark Wong and when did you start to collaborate together?

TS : This collaboration actually started with my father, who is a doctor working at Sunnaas Hospital. They had a co-operation with a Chinese hospital in Beijing, and when Norwegian Queen Sonja invited Mark Wang to come to Norway, we were like a host-family for Mark. When it was decided to make an 18-episodes TV-series about Mark, my music was sent to CCTV, and they selected me as their composer for their new production. I later on wrote an opera-musical about about Mark Wang and Ketil Moe, and they soon contacted from China to put it up in The Great Hall of the People in Beijing, which we will do in October.

Marie: Mark Wong, and Kjetil Moe, together with Johan Olav Koss, ex Olympic champion, have created an Association called “Run for life” for handicapped people. Kjetil Moe has passed away since then but Mark and Johan Olav Koss carried on to run the Association. Can you talk about it?

TS : Ketil Moe(1966-99), suffered from a serious lung-disease, and created “Run for life” in Kristiansand; a race created for all people, handicapped as well as healthy, where everybody wins.

Olympic Champion Johann Olav Koss co-operated with Ketil with this race, and helped to arrange the race even after Ketil passed away. Mark Wang started the “Run for life” in China together with Ketil and managed to open the first Beijing Marathon also for handicapped people. Mark continues his work in Ketil’s spirit all over China today, there about 60 million handicapped people in his home-country…

Marie: Morten Harket has participated to the “Run for Life” at the zoo in Kristiansand too. When have you met Morten and how has he been concerned with the Association?

TS : Morten Harket took part in fun-run activities in England together with patients and research –teams from Sunnaas at the end of the 1980’s, and so did I, although I was very young at the time. Morten contributed to massive attention to the problems and questions about cystic fibrosis and physical activity, which of course was interesting for me to, being son of a doctor.
We later on collaborated at the concert  “Johann Olav Koss & Ketil Moe’s Race for Life” in Kristiansand  zoo 2003.

Marie: Do you like a-ha music and Morten Harket solo albums? What are your musical influences?

TS : Of course, who doesn’t like a-ha? I think it’s interesting to see the different directions Morten Harket chooses to go with his solo-projects.
I think my musical influences has been mostly classical, like Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Bizet etc.

Marie: Further to your participation to the “Run for life” event at the Kristiansand Zoo in August 2003, you’ve decided to compose an opera called “Some Sunny Night” to tell the story of Mark Wong and Kjetil Moe. When did you start to write the opera and did you work alone or did you get collaboration from Chinese productions?

TS : It all started with a school-project at the Music Conservatory in Trondheim, where I could write a mini-opera about whatever I wanted to write about. I chose the story of Ketil and Mark, first of all because their stories and visions deserves to be to told to as many people as possible. After the performance in Trondheim, Sunnaas Hospital called me, and wanted me to write a bigger version for their Royal 50^th anniversary 2004. Since I knew the stories and the characters in the opera personally, it was not necessary to collaborate with anyone, and I also wrote the new version myself.

Marie: In the opera, you play Mark Wong’s role. What about the other artists in the opera? Are they all professional opera singers?

TS : Several of the singers in the opera have performed with The Norwegian Opera and most of the artists are educated in classical singing, dancing or musical –performance.

Marie: You played “Some Sunny Night” for the first time at Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital in Nessoden, Oslo on September 13^th 2004. Why Sunnaas hospital?

TS : It was only natural to perform at Sunnaas, since both Ketil and Mark have been patients there. Their stories of making the impossible possible is also a good example, and hopefully encouraging for everybody in a difficult situation.

Mari: One more time, Morten participated to that premiere as a guest star. He performed “Bridge over troubled water” from Paul Simon and Morten talked about encouragement for people who needed some. Have you got other projects with Morten Harket in the future?

TS : It has been a great experience working with Morten, and maybe we will also do some more collaboration in the future. Where and when is so far a secret, of course…

TS : The new premiere will be at Lyngdal kulturhus, South in Norway July 9, 17.00. The premiere has actually sold so well we’re putting on an extra-performance July 10, 17.00.
In Beijing, China, it will be performed in The Great Hall of the People (the Congress-Hall), October 15, which will be covered by CCTV.

Marie: My last question is more personal …indeed can you talk about one subject of your choice in a few sentences? What are you concerned with at the moment?

TS : Through my music and my writing I hope to encourage as many people as possible, handicapped and healthy. As Ketil Moe says in the opera “Some Sunny Night”: “Nothing is impossible, the impossible only takes longer time”.

Thank you , Thomas to have answered my questions. See you ….

Official website : www.thom.no
Personal Thanks to Thomas for his kindness. Pictures used with Thomas' approval.