This week, I have the pleasure of interviewing Nora, a very talented young euphonium player and member of the awesome Eikanger-Bjørsvik Musikklag Band from Norway! She is a brilliant role model, demonstrating how you can achieve your dreams if you believe in yourself and can perform at the highest level while studying for a career.
Before reading her interview, you MUST listen to her playing! 🎵 Here is a recording of her playing Blaydon Races.
I hope you enjoy reading her interview!
Do you have a favourite composer or piece of classical or brass music?
I don’t think I have one favourite composer, but I am really influenced by the music I am playing. Lately, I have played a lot of Eric Ball, and I think his music is really nice to both play and hear. I think one of my favourite pieces I’ve played recently is “The Eternal Presence”. That is because it has some really beautiful melodies and is so varied. In addition to this, I also want to mention “Jesus in Tibet” by Simon Dobson. This piece is really cool and majestic and I have had some memorable experiences performing it with Eikanger-Bjørsvik. I especially love the solos of the piece which are really impressive. The piece also has some catchy rhythms and moods which I think makes a piece fun to listen to.
Have you got any funny stories or unique experiences that you would like to share about any musical projects you have ever been involved in?
I think a unique experience I’ve had is that through my childhood I really looked up to Eikanger-Bjørsvik. At the National Championships my siblings and I would always want to listen to Eikanger, because they were the best of the best. For about six years we participated at Eikanger-Bjørsvik´s youth summer course, Feriespel. At Feriespel we were lucky to have players of the band as instructors and listen to them play ten-piece music. When I was sixteen, my Dad got a phone call from Eikanger asking if I wanted to play with them. That was quite shocking to say the least, and my parents wanted me to wait because I was a little too young and just starting at a new school that year. But one year later I was asked again, and so I went from Feriespel participant and admirer to a member myself. And at the next Feriespel I was an instructor and got to play in the ten piece, and I was the one sitting at the stage at the National Championships.
What 3 songs do you love the most and why?
I really like the song “Follow the light” by Dirty Loops. A friend of mine told me he always listened to it when he went on the elliptical trainer for a work out. And it actually works really well because it has so much energy. I also like the band, The Strokes and the songs “The Adults Are Talking” and “Under Cover of Darkness”. That is because they have really nice melodies and rhythms. I also have many great memories attached to the songs.
Tell us about some of your achievements as a euphonium player and musician.
I’ve always been a competitive person and I think that has motivated me a lot. I’ve participated in many soloist competitions, among them is a regional soloist competition called “Hordablæsten”. I have won three times, last time this year. I am quite proud about this last time, as this was the last time I could participate, and I had practised a lot for it. I played “Partita” by Arthur Butterworth. That was a really good experience. With Eikanger-Bjørsvik I have won the National Championships two times, Siddis Brass three times, and one third place and one second place at the EBBC.
What would you still like to achieve in your life, musical or not musical?
I have never really considered becoming a professional musician, because I think music is a really good hobby to have. I also like to have music as something that “I want to” and not something “I have to”. Next year I am starting my higher education after a year at Manger Folkehøgskule. I maybe want to study medicine and hope to combine studying and playing at a high level for as long as possible.
Something I really hope to achieve in my brass band career is to win the European Brass Band Championship. For myself, I someday want to be able to play solo euphonium in a top band.
How did you first get involved in music, and what was your early inspiration?
I first got involved in music because many of my family members played. I think my early inspiration was my dad, because I would always fall asleep to him practising his tuba. My older brother started playing a few years before me, and so I also wanted to play. In addition to that, my dad would always play brass band pieces like “The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea” and “The Year of the Dragon” in the car on the way to visit my grandparents, so I think my brass band training started very early.
Do you have a website, business, or social media page you would like to promote? Please tell us all about it.
I don’t have any social media pages where I post musical content, but Eikanger-Bjørsvik Musikklag is on Facebook and Instagram. I am currently attending Manger Folkehøgskule, @mangerfhs on Instagram. If you are a young player from anywhere in the world, looking to have an entire year of only playing your instrument and having fun with music, this is the place for you. 😊
Do you agree there are challenges facing female musicians today? If so, what do you think are the biggest changes that need to be made to improve this?
In the brass band movement, which I know the best, I think that there are definitely challenges facing women in leadership roles such as conductors, composers and adjudicators. But for me, as a player, I have not yet experienced any challenges due to my gender. However, as I started to play on a high level myself, I noticed how few women are occupying top seats, particularly on euphonium, in the top bands in both Europe and Norway. This leads me to think that the biggest challenge facing female musicians today is a lack of role models and therefore less expectations to be successful.
What piece of advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time?
I would tell myself to practise more on my musicality rather than only the technical part of playing. In brass bands I think it is easy to only do as you’re told by the conductor and not think for yourself. In my solo playing I could probably have focused more on the music.
What piece of advice would you give to young brass players (or any instrumentalists) to help them find success?
My advice is to sign up for summer courses, soloist competitions, youth bands and other arenas where you meet players your age. In this way, you will make many new friends but also be motivated to practise more. My experience is, that if I meet someone my age that is really good at playing, I will want to be as good as them. And so I will want to practise more.
A big THANK YOU to Nora for being interviewed in this blog series!
I hope you enjoyed reading the interview, please share it, like and subscribe and look out for the next one very soon!
To return to the overview page to see who is next to be featured, just CLICK HERE!
Mark Glover
22/11/24
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