This year’s examination concert series is called Ekstreamen, and is divided into three virtual festivals: classical (14 May – 17 June), jazz (25 May – 6 June) and folk music (1 – 3 June). Our students aren’t afraid of thinking outside the traditional boxes, and you can risk hearing pop, rock, folk songs, contemporary music and live electronic music. And maybe something completely new that you’ve never heard before. You could even experience a world premiere.
Stream a Concert or Ten
For the second year in a row, the Norwegian Academy of Music is streaming the spring examination concerts. As part of the audience, you can enjoy jazz, folk music and classical music streamed live from our concert halls at the Academy, Victoria, Nasjonal jazzscene and Riksscenen.
Versatile jazz musicians
Double bassist Christian Meaas Svendsen takes a new approach to his instrument in the project “Bass, body, bow”. Rowland’s Evil Jazz Trio play what they describe as evil jazz, presenting dark, mysterious and peculiar tunes with bold, biting and brutal sounds.
“Dark, mysterious and peculiar tunes with bold, biting and brutal sounds.”
On their own music
Jazz students are generally versatile musicians, who often play several instruments and in a variety of genres. If you’re not patient enough to wait, you can check out recordings from the Serendip Festival in March and April.
Tradition with some added attractions
Our folk musicians don’t play folk tunes non-stop; they add electronics, vocals and traditional instruments you might not even have heard of.
Two of the students from the Serendip band Ævestaden will be holding their examination concerts this spring. Will they be as melancholy and subtle when we listen to them individually?
Zosha Warpeha, an American Master’s degree student, has come to Norway from Minnesota to become an expert on the Hardanger fiddle. She sings, improvises and composes, and plays the violin, Hardanger fiddle and viola d’amore.
Centuries of music
The classical students invite you to concerts featuring guitar, violin, viola, cello, bass, percussion, saxophone, clarinet, oboe, horn, trombone and piano. As an audience member, you can pick and choose among your favourite instruments, familiar works by old masters and completely new pieces – written by our own composition students, among others.
Like Tolstoy, pianist Dragoș Andrei Cantea has chosen the title “War and Peace” for his concert. He presents works ranging from Beethoven’s, composed in the 18th and 19th centuries, to Ligeti’s, from the late 20th century.
Guitarist Verena Merstallinger has worked with different versions of the concept “Two Worlds” as it applies to people, the world and music. At her examination concert she will show the audience two worlds through music, and will demonstrate how versatile one work can be.
Violinist Kelly Sohyoung Lee will present “Something New, Something Familiar and Something Fun” in her concert with this title.
And of course you will also be able to hear works by the old but still beloved monuments of music history, such as Beethoven, Brahms and many more.
