Chamber music plays an important role at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Ensemble practice in small groups helps build the institution from the inside. We seek to use chamber music to develop rounded musicians.
Chamber music is obligatory for most performance students. They are free to choose which groups to join, which music to concentrate on and which teachers should coach them. The classic chamber music repertoire plays a central part, but the academy also encourages improvisation and cross-genre projects. Selected ensembles are coached by a team of teachers, including instrumental and aural skills teachers and a composer. This teaching model has been awarded the Ministry of Education and Research’s prize for quality in education .
The annual chamber music week includes workshops and masterclasses, international guests and concerts in which students and teachers perform together. A chamber music competition is held every January, and the winners are offered concert engagements and an opportunity to study abroad. As a member of the European Chamber Music Academy, the NMH invites leading European educators and ensembles to Oslo for a series of annual workshops.
