Ivar Anton Waagard is Associate Professor of Accompaniment at the Norwegian Academy of Music. He studied with Liv Glaser and Kaare Ørnung, and with Albert Ferber in London. He has toured throughout Norway, in a number of European and Asian countries, and in the US, with Sigmund Groven and other major Norwegian artists. He has performed a number of times at the Bergen International Festival and has also appeared at several other festivals in Norway. From 1995-2007 Waagaard was the regular accompanist for the Queen Sonja International Music Competition, and he has served as repetiteur at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts and the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. He has participated in hundreds of radio and TV broadcasts, contributed to several dozen recordings, played music for films, radio and TV theatre. He has also served as orchestra pianist for The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Norwegian Radio Orchestra) on numerous occasions. His experience as a pianist also includes a variety of genres within cabaret, revue, and other forms of musical theatre. During the last few years Waagaard has recorded classical Norwegian songs with opera singer Svein Bjørkøy, American cabaret songs with singer Tora Augestad, “Grieg Album” and “Classical Harmonica” with Sigmund Groven, Norwegian music for two pianos with pianist Jorunn Marie Bratlie, and a solo album with George Gershwin’s complete piano music - Gershwin at the Keyboard.