Biography

Terese Lien is a Norwegian–Swedish jazz violinist and composer based in Gothenburg, Sweden. She began playing the violin at the age of seven within the classical tradition before discovering jazz in her early twenties. In 2016, she graduated from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, becoming the first violinist to graduate from the Bachelor’s Programme in Jazz Performance at the institution.

Since then, Lien has established herself as a distinctive voice on the Scandinavian jazz scene, known for a lyrical and expressive approach that combines strong melodies, rhythmic drive and close ensemble interplay. She leads the contemporary jazz group Terese Lien Quintet (TLQ), featuring violin and clarinet in the front line and performing her original compositions. She also leads All In Trio, a project rooted in the traditional jazz repertoire.

Since 2017, Evenstad has released four albums in her own name. Her third album, Movement (2023), was released by the German label Berthold Records and followed by international concerts and touring. In 2026, she released her fourth album, Phoenix, on Swedish label Hoob Records with Terese Lien Quintet. The album explores a lyrical yet groove-oriented sound shaped by modern jazz, improvisation and the dynamic interaction of the quintet.

Lien has built an increasingly international career, with concerts and tours in countries including Germany, India, Norway, Sweden, Italy and Switzerland. She has performed at jazz clubs, festivals and concert venues across Scandinavia and Europe, including B-flat in Berlin, and has been selected by Export Music Sweden to participate in international industry and networking events including jazzahead!, Elbjazz and the European Jazz Conference.

Her artistic work has received several national awards and nominations. In 2018, she was nominated for the P2 Jazzkatten Award in the category Newcomer of the Year and received the Louis Armstrong Scholarship, whose jury highlighted how she had “given the violin a new face within jazz.” In 2019, she was selected as Young Swedish Soloistby Scenkonst Sörmland and received the J Scholarship, awarded by guitarist Janne Schaffer and jury. She later received a two-year working grant from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee for 2023–2024, and in 2024 her album Movementwas nominated for Jazz of the Year at the Manifest Gala.

In 2026, Evenstad was selected as one of six musicians invited to present a vision for the future of Sweden’s music sector at Folk och Kultur, one of Sweden’s leading national cultural policy forums. 

Alongside her work as a bandleader and composer, Lien has collaborated with musicians and ensembles including Bohuslän Big Band, Lina Nyberg, Fabian Kallerdahl, Kristin Amparo, Peter Knudsen, Eva Lindal, Stina Hällberg Agback, Peter Danemo, Sara Aldén, Örjan Hultén, Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo. She has also worked as an educator and workshop leader, including a two-day Meet the Artist residency at Örebro University School of Music, where she worked with graduating students on improvisation, creative expression and her own compositions.

Rooted in the jazz tradition while continually exploring the possibilities of the violin within contemporary jazz, Lien’s music moves between lyricism, groove, improvisation and collective interplay. Her work reflects both a strong connection to the history of jazz and a drive to expand the role of the violin within the genre.