She is the Artistic Director and Founder of two acclaimed initiatives: Nordic Masterclass for Conductors,[1] an initiative launched in 2012 that strives to create possibilities for young conductors to develop their skills in orchestral leadership, and INDK Symphonic Collaboration,[2] launched in 2018, a collaborative music venture between India and Denmark, the focus of which is to strengthen relations between the two countries through the universal language of music.
With a great interest in contemporary music, Maria Badstue has premiered several works and has also appeared with the Cikada Ensemble in Oslo.
[4] Since 2007 she has studied privately with Jorma Panula, and in 2011 she enrolled at the master's degree programme for conductors at the Norwegian State Academy of Music with Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Ole Kristian Ruud as her main professors.
[4] She received her master's degree from the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music and has played with the Odense Symphony Orchestra.
She is the initiator and founder of the annual "Nordic Masterclass for Conductors" organized in cooperation with the orchestra.