The Ole Bull Academy ( no, Ole Bull Akademiet, established 1977 in

Voss Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, Opphe ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

) is a Norwegian music college that offers college-level courses on

Norwegian folk music Much has been learned about early music in Norway from physical artifacts found during archaeological digs. These include instruments such as the lur. Viking and medieval sagas also describe musical activity, as do the accounts of priests and pil ...

and folk dance. Today, the Academy educates about 700 students annually, and over 9000 students had taken a course at the Academy in 2003. Near the end of 2009 the figure was 12,000.

Biography

The idea of an academy came from

Ole Bull Ole Bornemann Bull (; 5 February 181017 August 1880) was a Norwegian virtuoso violinist and composer. According to Robert Schumann, he was on a level with Niccolò Paganini for the speed and clarity of his playing. Biography Background Bull was ...

in 1863. He wished an academy that was based on Norwegian folk music, and a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

inspired by Norwegian village dances. The idea was turned into reality by

Sigbjørn Bernhoft Osa Sigbjørn Bernhoft Osa (3 May 1910 2 February 1990) was a Norwegian fiddler and traditional folk musician. He was one of the best known Norwegian performers of folk music in the 1900s. Personal life Osa was born in Ulvik, Hardanger as the son of ...

in 1977, First by course in the "slåttespill" for students at the

Norges Musikkhøgskole The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the c ...

and Bergen Musikkonservatorium. According to the website of the Academy, teaching follows the old principle from folk music: "From ear to ear, string to string, and throat to throat". The teaching is organized in courses, usually by a week. A fixed two-year course for performers was established by

Griegakademiet The Grieg Academy ( no, Griegakademiet) is a disputed historical term used to refer to the higher education music programs in Bergen, Norway (birthplace of composer Edvard Grieg), as well as various collaborations across music institutions in Bergen ...

from 1996, and is leading to a bachelor's degree in combination with study points from

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

. In 2009 a Bachelor's Degree was started in Traditional dance together with the RFF-center and NTNU. Study within

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

will be given by Stord/Haugesund University College. The Academy also collaborates with music education institutions in the

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Also, are granted teaching

ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural anthropology, cultural, social anthropolo ...

and

music history Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history o ...

, and it is held international English language summer courses. In collaboration with «Voss Spelemannslag» the Academy manages «Voss Folkemusikksamling». Furthermore publish the books and records, and runs music workshops. They hold the «Osafestivalen» every autumn, and manages the fund and fiddle collection after

. Furthermore, it owns and operates the student home «Kringsjå», developed containing the administration department, teaching rooms and concert hall in 1994, and in 2004 it was extended by several more teaching rooms, practice rooms and office. The Academy is currently funded by both

Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality ( no, Det kongelige kultur- og likestillingsdepartement; short name ''Kultur- og likestillingsdepartementet'') is responsible for cultural policy, regulations and other matters related to the ...

, Hordaland County and the municipality of

. Rector in 2009 was Gunnar Stubseid, who led a staff of seven employees.

References

External links

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Origo.no om akademietKulturnett.no om akademietSnl.no om akademietNTNU om eit samarbeidsstudie med akademiet
{{authority control Norwegian folk music Music schools in Norway Education in Bergen 1977 establishments in Norway