Rikskonsertene is the national concert institute of Norway. Its main goal is to make live music of high artistic quality accessible throughout the country. Many local communities do not have the resources to offer a diverse menu of high quality concerts. Rikskonsertene works to fill these gaps and support them with a diversified programme consisting of classical, contemporary, jazz, rock and pop, folk and world music.

Since Rikskonsertene was established in 1968, the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs has financed its activities. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (NORAD) finance Rikskonsertene’s projects and programmes abroad.

In recent decades Rikskonsertene has exercised special focus on music from different cultures of the world, in particular those from Africa, Asia and Latin America. By doing so it affords performers of minority cultures in Norway opportunities to expose their music and offer audiences throughout the country a wide range of concerts. Each November, Rikskonsertene organises the Oslo Multi-Cultural Music Festival. Today it is one of the most important arenas for world music in northern Europe.

Rikskonsertene is engaged in a range of diverse international music projects, mainly in close co-operation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (NORAD). Music is an important element in Norwegian foreign policy and development work.

Rikskonsertene also represents Norway on the International Music Council (CIM/IMC) and its European branch, the European Music Council (EMC). Consequently, Rikskonsertene is the secretariat for the Norwegian IMC Committee. Rikskonsertene is also linked to a number of international organisations and networks, including the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA), the European Forum of World Music Festivals (EFWMF), the International Society for Music Education (ISME), the Europe Jazz Network (EJN) and the Nordic Network for School Concerts (NNS).