Career
He is also a bandleader, and arranges and composes music When Bendik Hofseth went to New York in 1987, and replaced the world famous saxophonist Michael Brecker in the band Steps Ahead, it probably came as a surprise to many. A youngster from Lørenskog, Norway in the jazz capital of New York, lining up for one of the most renowned jazz bands in United States. Along with Steps Ahead, he has toured world wide several times since 1987.
He has also worked as a record producer for among others January Eggum and Kenneth Sivertsen.
In addition, he has composed numerous commissioned works, film music and founded a chamber music festival in Fredrikstad. He is today a major figure in the Norwegian and international music organizations.
He is chairman of NOPA and by-Larm, and the World Composers Organisation, Congrès Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne, where he represents 2.6 million composers and lyricists worldwide. He was for many years chairman of Phonofile.
He is also a director of TONO and NCB, to mention a few.
In 1994 Hofseth presented the commission Metamorfoser at Vossajazz. The piece was written for the Norwegian "Rikskonsertene" and was performed on concert tours in 1994. The concert at Rockefeller in Oslo was recorded and the music released in 1995, with Mike Mainieri (vibraphone), Eivind Aarset (guitar), Anders Jormin (double bass), Talvin Singh (tablas) and Jon Christensen (percussion).
Here he is also responsible for the conference "Challenge of the New".