Sølvguttene

Sølvguttene (the Boys of Silver) is a Boys' choir founded by Torstein Grythe in June, 1940. He would hold the position as conductor until 2004, when Fredrik Otterstad took over. The choir had its first rehearsals in his apartment in Oslo, but were soon offered to rehearse in Norwegian Broadcasting's ( NRK ) facilities. The thought was that the choir would be permanently linked to NRK, and the first radio performance was held in December 1940. Conditions during the German occupation soon made it impossible to continue the cooperation with NRK, and the choir was for the remainder of the war years managed by the founder/conductor. Sølvguttene got its name primarily because of the shiny, silvery uniforms that were acquired in the beginning (for lack of other, more subtle materials). Later the name has been attributed to the special sound and clarity of boys voices, voices of silver.