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Before coming to England, Arnfinn Tobiassen was the organist of his father's church in Norway, and later acted as Chapel Organist
to the Norwegian Navy while completing his national service.
In 2001 he began his studies as a scholarship student at the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied for his undergraduate
degree with David Titterington and James O'Donnell. In 2005 he was accepted for the Postgraduate performance programme at
the same institution, studying Interpretation with Susan Landale and Improvisation with Lionel Rogg. He also participated
in Masterclasses with Daniel Chorzempa, Helmut Deutsch, Naji Hakim and Jon Laukvik. On graduation in 2007 he was awarded the
coveted Diploma of the Royal Academy of Music (DipRAM) for an outstanding Final Recital, and one of the RAM's five top prizes,
the Vice Principal's Special Award, presented for notable achievement. In July 2007 he received the Flentrop Scholarship from
the Eric Thompson Trust.
In 2006, he won the 15th International Organ Competition in Opava, Czech Republic, competing against 30 other organists
from Europe and Asia.
In 2003 he was appointed an assistant organist of the Dutch Church in London, a post which for two years he combined with
the Organ Scholarship at St Paul's Knightsbridge before becoming the Organ Scholar and subsequently Assistant Organist at
St Michael's and All Angels in Croydon in December 2007. He is also a member of the music staff at the Royal Russell School,
Surrey.
An experienced orchestral musician, Arnfinn Tobiassen has an extensive orchestral, as well as solo and ensemble repertoire.
Most recently he performed with the Dartington Festival Orchestra and the Janacek Young Philharmonic under Jan Latham-Koenig.
He has taken part in the Cambridge Summer Music Festival, the London Bach Festival and the 2008 Messiaen Festival hosted by
the South Bank Centre, and future engagements include appearances at Reading Town Hall and Westminster Abbey (2009).
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