Norwegian Band Conductors Conference, 2013

In February of 2013, the Norwegian Band Federation (NMF: Norges Musikkorps Forbunde) will hold its national brass conducting conference at the Grieg Academy-Institute, University of Bergen. I have been asked to give a keynote presentation: “On the Wind Band Movement in Japan, With Reflections on Conditions in Norway”.

Japan, where I lived for several years, is considered to have some of the finest school wind bands in the world, particularly among children aged 10-15; but western Norway, where I now live, appears to have some of the very most outstanding European-style community brass bands, particularly among young adults aged 15 through 40. In recent years, Norwegian bands have consistently won major European brass band competitions. Still, I should mention that Norway also has some notable school wind bands and Japan as well has some strong community brass bands. Wind bands and brass bands are rather closely related ensembles, but have slightly different instrumentation, repertoire and performance traditions, and I have enjoyed some very interesting opportunities to work at length with such ensembles, also in the USA and New Zealand (both European-style bands and ensembles in the Tongan and Maori traditions), as well as in Japan and more recently, Norway. This event will provide an opportunity to discuss the similarities and differences from an international perspective. I look forward to meeting several of the leading Norwegian band conductors at this event.  

Click HERE for an interesting article on Wind Music in Norway by Jan Magnus Dahle. 

Although my work as a Professor of Music in Norway mostly emphasizes music research and academic study of music nowadays, I have continued to play trumpet and do some band conducting here, and some of my recent and current trumpet students play in the award-winning brass bands from this part of Norway.