Raajroe

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Festival profile

Festival profile, Marja Mortensson, brings a unique project to the Northern Lights Festival 2026.

The major work, Raajroe - The Reindeer Caravan, has been performed only once before, with the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra in 2021. When the Arctic Philharmonic and the Norwegian Wind Ensemble join forces for the Tromsø premiere in 2026, it sets the stage for a spectacular musical experience, and a grand commemoration of the Sami people's day.

Raajroe – The Reindeer Caravan has received major acclaim, including winning the Spellemann Award in 2022 in the traditional music category. It also earned Mortensson a Spellemann Award for the earlier work Mojhtestasse – Cultural Heirlooms, which was likewise created together with Daniel Herskedal and Jakop Janssønn.

Raajroe - The Reindeer Caravan mirrors the movements of the reindeer raid in the landscape. The work conveys the long lines of our Sami history, the love of nature and the reindeer, what gives us life; the good memories that live in us and a strong faith in the coming generations. Life is also marked by the policies pursued. What does it mean to grow up in a living tradition, where some parts stand strong and others are only vague memories of a bygone era?

In this work, Marja Mortensson reflects on how the legacy has been carried on, the respect for nature, the joiks and stories that we must not forget, and how important it is that the older generation share their knowledge and stories for posterity. The work is a thank you to her paternal grandmother, Inga, who has vividly told about growing up with the reindeer raid.

Marja Mortensson is one of our most important tradition bearers for the Southern and Usamese joike tradition. Together with Daniel Herskedal and Jakop Janssonen, she has created a new landscape for the joiken, inviting the Arctic Film Orne and Det Norske Blåseemsemble to join the journey.

Welcome to the reinraidens concert!

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