The Grieg Academy

Department of Music - The University of Bergen

More information: https://kmd.uib.no/en/studies/music

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Stein-Erik Olsen

Professor of Classical guitar and Chamber music.
Mail: stein.olsen@uib.no
Mobile: +47 977 66 573

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I have been teaching at the Grieg Academy since it was first established in 1995. Guitar students receive weekly individual lessons as well as further classes to discuss repertoire, styles, technique and interpretation.

Regular contacts with international players are extremely important to develop a creative perspective of our work. Since I started teaching at the Grieg Academy I have maintained contact with guitarists teaching at similar institutions in Europe. This initiative, in combination with my extensive concert activities, has resulted in invitations to give masterclasses at other Conservatories and Universities throughout Europe including:

NMH - Norwegian Academy of Music 2016-2018, Professor II
Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMD), France
Malmö Academy of Music Lund University Sweden
Musikhochschulen in Luzern, Switzerland
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama UK
Pôle d'Enseignement Supérieur de la Musique et de la Danse de Bordeaux Aquitaine, France
Academy of Musical Arts in Prague. Czech republic
Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles, Belgium.

To fulfil the ideal of extensive international contacts we have established a non-profit organization named Gitarekspressen, http://www.gitarekspressen.com to invite the international elite of classical guitarists to the Grieg Academy, and include their masterclasses as a significant aspect of our educational arrangements. Gitarekspressen receives annual financial support from various cultural funds including sponsorship from the Arts Council of Norway. Concerts from eminent visiting artists take place at various venues in Bergen and the open masterclasses are featured at the Grieg Academy. These masterclasses are a wonderful opportunity to perform for internationally famous guitarists and thus learn more about music and technique.

Well over a hundred international guitarists have visited us over the years. The main concept is to introduce our students to guitarists with specialist expertise in many kinds of repertoire. Some are established professors while others are gifted prize winners of prestigious competitions. In recent years we have invited many of the finest younger generation of players such as Thibaut Garcia and Raphael Feuillâtre. It is very inspiring for students to meet successful world renowned players of their own age group. Another important element is that students become acquainted with practitioners from many countries and some of our students on graduation have continued their studies with recitalists such as Ricardo Gallén, Marco Tamayo, Zoran Dukić, Duo Melis, Hubert Käppel, Marco Socías, Alex Garrobe and Göran Söllscher, after first meeting them in Bergen.

Here is a list of some of the distinguished guitar personalities who have visited the Grieg Academy in recent years, some of them several times:

Pablo Marquez, Pavel Steidl, Tilman Hoppstock, Göran Söllscher, Marco Socias, Zoran Dukic, Ricardo Gallén, Marcin Dylla, Graham Wade, Carlo Marchione, Marco Tamayo, Odair Assad, Gabriel Bianco, Duo Melis, Raphael Feuillatre, Thibaut Garcia, Andreas von Wangenheim, Stepan Rak, Nikita Koshkin, Scandinavian Guitar Duo, Koshkin Duo, Florian Larouse, Raphael Agirre, Irina Kulikova, John Mills, Goran Krivokapic, Alex Garrobe, Anabel Montesinos, Gerard Abiton, Olivier Chassain, Eric Franceries, Frédéric Zigante, Aniello Desiderio Carlo Domeniconi, Matteo Mela, Vladimir Mikulka, Hubert Käppel, Frank Bungarten, Graham Devine, Fabio Zanon, José Antonio Escobár, etc.

If you are interested in further information about guitar studies at the Grieg Academy, please contact me via mail or phone.