Maj Sønstevold

Maj Sønstevold (born Lundén; 9 September 1917 – 14 March 1996) was a Swedish composer who lived and worked in Norway.

Maj Sønstevold was born in Sollefteå, Sweden. She studied piano in Stockholm and with Billy Mayerl in London. She married Norwegian composer Gunnar Sønstevold and in 1945 moved to Norway, where she worked as a composer and music teacher. Later she and her family spent time in Vienna, where she studied with Hanns Jelinek and Karl Schiske and graduated in composition in 1966 from the Akademisches Hauptseminar.

From 1971 to 1985 Sønstevold taught in the Music Department of Oslo University. In 1974 she and her husband founded The Maj and Gunnar Sønstevold Music Institute in Rakkestad.

Søstevold held a number of positions on the Norwegian music scene and served as a board member of organisations Music Information Centre Norway, the Norwegian Society of Composers and the Norwegian Academy of Music.

Maj Sønstevold composed jazz, light music and avant garde music for theatre, film, radio and television. She also composed for orchestra, chamber ensemble, choir and solo instrument.