Mona Krogstad
(b. 1995) is a Norwegian saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator based in Trondheim, Norway. She works mainly with jazz and rhythmic improvised music, and is active across a wide range of ensembles, formats and artistic collaborations.

Krogstad released her debut album as a bandleader, Virgo Sun, in September 2022. Since then, she has continued to develop a clear artistic voice as both a performer and composer, with a strong focus on melody, collective playing and open forms. Alongside her own projects, she is an active part of the Norwegian and Nordic jazz scenes.

Her musical education includes studies at Birka and Fridhem Folkhögskola in Sweden, followed by a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim. During her studies, she worked with teachers such as Eirik Hegdal, Mette Rasmussen, Klaus Holm and Oscar Grönberg. In 2019, she spent an exchange year at the Royal College of Music (Kungliga Musikhögskolan) in Stockholm, studying with Fredrik Ljungkvist. After completing her bachelor’s degree, she continued with one year of music pedagogy and one year of arranging and composition at NTNU. In 2025/26 she studies Joik at Nord Universitet.

Krogstad is well known for her work in the band JUNO, an expressive and genre-open ensemble that has received strong attention on the European Jazz Scene. JUNO released their debut album Young Star (2020, Jazzland Recordings), produced by Kristoffer Lo, and were named “Artist of the Year” by the Norwegian cultural newspaper Subjekt the same year. The band later represented Norway in the Nordic Jazz Comets program, and released their second album Myriad Path in 2023 on Jazzland Recordings.

In addition to JUNO and her own band projects, Krogstad performs with a wide range of artists and ensembles, including Superspreder, Skjæbnen, Midnight Sun Collective, Ladybird Orchestra, Trøndelag Big Band and Starlight Big Band. She has also collaborated with artists such as Hedvig Mollestad, Bugge Wesseltoft, Vigleik Storaas , Nosizwe Baqwa and Heidi Skjerve.

Krogstad is active in interdisciplinary work and stage productions, and appears as both musician and performer in the children’s production Veven, a biology-inspired fantasy combining music, storytelling and theatre. She has also taken part in the theatre production Mother of a Nation by Nosizwe Baqwa, which received the Heddaprisen in 2022 for Best Musical Theatre Performance.

Alongside her work as a performer, Krogstad has built a strong profile as a composer and arranger. She has written music for both small and large jazz ensembles, including Aalborg Youth Jazz Orchestra and Starlight Big Band, and has composed commissioned works for Nordberg Strykeorkester. Her work also includes music and arrangements for Inderøy Youth Orchestra, as well as projects with the TRD Ensemble. Her compositions often explore the meeting point between written material and improvisation, with a clear focus on communication and group interaction.

Krogstad has released several albums through a wide range of projects and collaborations. Her recorded work includes releases with Superspreder, JUNO, Zenos Mode, Mona Krogstad Quartet, Trøndelag Big Band, Kjellerbandet and Starlight Big Band, as well as collaborations with Heidi Skjerve & Daniel Formo and Kristine Bø. These releases reflect her versatility as a musician, moving freely between small ensembles, large formats and vocal projects.

In 2017, Krogstad was named “Cultural Talent of the Year” by SpareBank 1 SMN for her initiative and engagement in the Trondheim music scene. This included co-founding Unisfestivalen together with Ida Willadsen, a festival with a strong focus on equality, diversity and emerging artists, held in 2017 and 2018, alongside a related concert series. In 2022, she received a cultural grant from Trondheim Municipality, and in 2023 she was awarded the Establishment Grant from Kongsberg Jazzfestival and DNB.

As an artist, Krogstad draws inspiration from the jazz tradition and saxophonists such as Wayne Shorter and Joe Henderson, while her work is equally shaped by contemporary improvised music and her broad experience across genres, ensembles and artistic formats. Her music is driven by a strong interest in communication, collective processes and the expressive possibilities of improvised music.