The Deputy Principal's Speech at the Official Opening of the Academic Year 2026

Welcome to the official opening of the semester, and congratulations to all of you – and to us, for having so many wonderful new students who will help shape Norwegian musical life in the years ahead! There is something special about meeting all of you who are new here – it really gives my motivation batteries a rapid recharge.

You are going to give a lot, work hard and immerse yourselves deeply in what you do, but don’t forget to balance all of that by recharging your batteries, finding inspiration, seeking out other perspectives, other people, other people’s opinions, other colours, other smells, other tastes.

Amund and Astrid talked about togetherness, presence and balance. That naturally brings us to live performance and communication, and I’d like to make a case for that now.

I’d like to make a case for NMH’s event and concert programme. We have around 400 events every year – and approximately 25,000 audience members find their way to them. We have room for more! The quality of what we offer is incredibly high, and most of it is completely free. Make use of this goldmine as a place to develop, both for yourself and for the people you know – or will soon get to know.

You have already taken part in the fantastic opening concerts. Coming up, we have concert lectures, PhD defences and other presentations, seminars and courses of incredible breadth and quality. We are taking part in the Ultima Festival and hosting concerts with Norwegian and Ukrainian musicians. We have sinfonietta, symphony orchestra and chamber choir concerts, organ concerts and a conference on music and dementia. We have the composers’ concert series and a healthy dose of jazz and improvised music. We have contemporary music and early music and everything in between. Then we move into the Chamber Music Week, before entering the world of folk music with the Ljøsblått festival. At the end of October and throughout November, the Vortex Space will be buzzing with all kinds of artistic research presentations. Finally, we arrive in December with Christmas concerts and a celebration of Olav Anton Thommessen – but before that, there will be an incredible array of fascinating concerts and performances featuring master's projects, PhD projects and other ongoing projects in research and artistic development.

And on top of all that, there are all the opportunities offered by the cultural institutions and venues around us in the city: the Norwegian National Opera, Litteraturhuset, Kunstnernes Hus, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK) at Store Studio, Riksscenen, the University Aula, Oslo Concert Hall, Nasjonal jazzscene, Hærverk, Mir, Becco, Holmlia kulturhavn and many, many more. All of these places are very welcoming to students.

There are so many opportunities to get inspired! Make use of them and embrace all the new perspectives they offer. I look forward to seeing you here and there at different events – and I’m always happy to stop for a chat so we can reflect together on what we’ve just heard.

Have a rich and meaningful academic year, everyone!