Mette Henriette is a Sámi-Norwegian composer, improvising saxophonist and bandleader working across creative disciplines.
With a gravitation towards the unknown, her early years were filled with a range of formative experiences—from studies at Norwegian Academy of Music and School for Improvisational Music in Brooklyn, to musical travels through Tajikistan and West Africa.
Her debut on ECM Records, Mette Henriette (2015), is a double album of original music for trio and large ensemble produced by Manfred Eicher. The release, featuring a portrait series by photographer Anton Corbijn, received international acclaim; The Guardian described her as a “Contemporary music star on the rise”. Her second album, Drifting (2023), made an equally strong impression and was named “Best Record of the Year” by DownBeat.
On tour, tailored lights and scenography come together with her music, sculpting a spatial and audiovisual dramaturgy. Mette Henriette’s performances have been commissioned and presented at Barbican Hall, Berliner Festspiele, Dark Mofo, documenta14, Flagey, Moldejazz, Musée d’Orsay, Oslo Opera House, Ultima International Contemporary Festival, Rewire, Riddu Riddu and Atlanta Jazz Festival.
Her orchestral cycle Overture I—III (2020) commissioned by the Oslo Philharmonic, was premiered at Oslo Concert Hall under Klaus Mäkelä. Mirroring Sámi perception of time, the three works can be performed individually, as couples or together as a whole, beginning and ending anywhere in the cycle. They have been performed by The Hallé at The Bridgewater Hall and the Norwegian Academy of Music’s Symphony Orchestra. Her string orchestra work for Arctic Philharmonic was premiered under Henning Kraggerud inside a coal mine on Svalbard. She has also composed chamber and solo pieces for Cikada and violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing.
The Sámi short film Háldi (2022) featuring Mette Henriette as scriptwriter, composer and actress, premiered at imagineNATIVE and screened at international film festivals, as well as the opening week of the National Museum of Norway.
The award-winning book anthology only an instant published by Munch Museum presented a selection of her handwritten scores, crafted in response to an unfinished poem by Edvard Munch.
Mette Henriette has collaborated with artists such as Marina Abramovic, Nicolas Jaar, Jo Strømgren, Camille Norment, Valgeir Sigurdsson and Radik Tülüsh of Huun-Huur-Tu.
In 2023, she served as a mentor at the Montreux Jazz Festival Residency.