Education

The jazz department was established in 1979 at the Trøndelag Conservatory of Music, which today is the Department of Music at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

The jazz department has a unique position in Norwegian music. For more than 40 years the Norwegian jazz scene has been dominated by candidates from this institution. It is open for all instruments.

The Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo offers both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Music Performance and Music Education. Master degree studies in performance of improvised music / jazz require a completed 3 or 4 year bachelor degree in music.

The Grieg Academy's profile is based on strong and internationally recognized professional environments within performance (classical, jazz, traditional music), composition, music therapy, musicology and music pedagogy. The Grieg Academy has close contact with the city's music and cultural life, and collaborates with, among others, Festspillene, Nattjazz, Borealis Festival, Bergen National Opera and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.

The department offers studies at all levels in performing music with a specialization in jazz. Several of the neighboring cultural institutions work closely with the faculty in general and jazz programme in particular. Bjergsted Culture Park consists of a Stavanger kulturskole, which is a cultural school for children, the music and dance department at Stavanger Cathedral School (secondary school), Stavanger Concert Hall and the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. Stavanger Jazzforum and the festival Mai Jazz are the most important partners of the jazz department.

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is the third largest in Norway and the northernmost university of the world. It offers specialization in either main instrument or instrumental pedagogy.

Improbasen is a center in Oslo, where children can learn about jazz and improvised music. Improbasen have developed teaching methods based on combining handcraft with creativity, ear training, and comunication, aiming to make children enjoying music. Students are between 7 og 14 years old. They all get weekly training in harmony, chord progressions ear training and various approaches to improvisation.



The students benefit a lot from always being able to practise what they learn during individual lessons in a band context, thus turning their training into a social experience. The students also do several monthly performances on some of the best venues for jazz in Norway, including Nasjonal Jazzscene.

Many of the foremost jazz musicians in Scandinavia and Europe have visited Improbasen to share their knowledge. They have cooperation partners all over Europe, in Japan and in South America. Improbasen has also established the international festival "Kids in Jazz" that takes place in Oslo every August, gathering young talents from around 12 countries including Japan and South America.