On Wednesday, November 22, at 3:30 PM, there will be a demonstration outside the Norwegian Parliament supporting a new building for Grieg Academy. We invite all current and former students, music enthusiasts, and friends of Grieg Academy to join and show their support!
We encourage everyone to bring instruments or other sound sources and participate in an organized sound disruption during the demonstration.
There will be music and speeches by the principal of the University of Bergen (UiB), Margareth Hagen, the leader of the Student Parliament at UiB, Kaja Ingdal Hovdenak, and the head of Grieg Academy, Randi Rolvsjord.
Let music live on!
Stortinget.
For 28 years, the University of Bergen (UiB) has been working towards providing Grieg Academy with new, modern facilities. However, the allocation for a new building was not mentioned in the State Budget for 2024.
"Allowing a cultural institution like Grieg Academy (UiB) to deteriorate knowingly and willingly will cost more than what we save in this year's state budget," write the leaders of the country's higher music education institutions in Norway in Aftenposten on October 24.
"Investing in music is investing in all layers of society and all phases of life,"
institutions in an article in Aftenposten.
The article continues:
"Our current and former students lead bands and choirs for amateurs and professionals. They play and sing in professional orchestras and ensembles. They teach at cultural schools, ensuring that children and youth have music in their lives and that musical competence is passed on to new generations.
They work in music production, festivals, and composition. They release albums we discuss, listen to alone, and share with others. They play at funerals and weddings. They are in cities and in rural areas. They lead dementia choirs, work with inmates in prisons with addiction and mental health, and give vulnerable individuals the opportunity to participate in music. They create meeting places that bring people together.
"Higher music education is an essential piece of the musical infrastructure that society needs."
in Aftenposten
"In a modern society like Norway, music has a natural place. It serves various functions for individuals and for society.
Music contributes not only to the aesthetic experience in the moment but can also have significance for health, well-being, social contact, cooperation, and, in the extreme, democracy. Therefore, music education is crucial.
A new building for Grieg Academy is not only a matter for students and staff there. It has ripple effects far into the music scene and society.
"Music contributes not only to the aesthetic experience in the moment but can also have significance for health, well-being, social contact, cooperation, and, in the extreme, democracy."
in Aftenposten
In 2022, the Ministry of Education described the current facilities as "run-down and not functional in terms of physical environment, interaction opportunities, and practice execution."
The site for the new building is ready, and the new structure is designed. However, without startup funds, there will be no construction commencement.
