Magnetic North Orchestra established in Oslo, Norway (1992–2005) was a Norwegian jazz orchestra, created and led by Jon Balke.[1] MNO was originally a jazz ensemble inspired by Oslo 13, put together with strings and percussion. As Olympic musical ambassador from 1993 to 1994, for the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer, Jon Balke created the work Magnetic North for a larger group, and under this name (MNO) he has toured in Europe, USA and Japan.[2]
MNO was further developed with fourteen string musicians from "Stavanger Symfoniorkester" for the production Grand Magnetic (2001), and in a version with the "TrondheimSolistene". After 2002 they had close cooperation with Balke's band Batagraf. The lineup has varied from seven to thirteen.[3]