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In 2025, the Ìýfestival commemorates the bicentennial of the first organized emigration from Norway to America. Since 1825, whenÌýthe Restauration sailed from Stavanger to New YorkÌýthe first Norwegian emigrants were followed by almost a million people, settling in North America. Today, the Norwegian American community counts almost as many people as living in the home country, and many of them nurture their cultural heritage to cherish their origins.Ìý

Call for papers:

This year’s conference invites contributions which take on the cultural connections between Norway, Scandinavia, and abroad, and shed light on various critical perspectives of migration and music.

• Examine the emigration of Norwegians to the USA and the footprint of Norwegian immigrants in American musical life. One of the most prominent in his time was the Norwegian virtuoso Ole Bull, but many other musicians and composers remain unknown and deserve new attention.ÌýÌý
• Study the impression music by Grieg and other Norwegian or Scandinavian composers made in shaping international perceptions of Nordic culture, as cultural soft power and for transnational nation branding in different periods of the 19th and 20th century.Ìý
• Examine how Norwegian/Scandinavian emigrants maintained their cultural identity through music across generations; how music helped cope with nostalgia and cultural displacement; the role of heritage music in social events, religious practices, and celebrations among emigrée communities globally.
• Examine how Grieg’s or other Norwegian or Scandinavian composers’ music has been adapted or reinterpreted in film music, jazz, or rock, or other musical genres globally.Ìý
• Study the impact of musicians immigrating to Norway, bringing new impulses from outside to Norwegian musical life.

Application procedures:

Submission of research papers or artistic research presentations: Please send an abstract (300 words) by 1 July 2025 to arnulf.mattes@uib.no. Proposals will be assessed by 15 August 2025.Ìý

Registration for the conference:Ìý

Observing participants: Please fill in our by 1 September 2025.
All applicants must pay for their own travel and accommodation. There will be a small conference fee for registered participants (lunch will be covered for active participants). More practical information about registration, program, conference venues, travel, and local accommodation will be published on this website and sent to registered participants in due time.Ìý

Organizers:

is a non-profit organisation, aiming to create a worldwide network of scholars, performers and music listeners who cherish the music of the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.

Grieg Research Centre (ÐÒÔË·Éͧ¼Æ»®)
The Grieg Research Centre at University of Bergen does research on Edvard Grieg's works, his historical importance and cultural relevance in the past and the present. The centre'sÌýgoal is further to contribute to international research on the diverseÌýtraditions in Norwegian music succeeding Grieg andÌýthe close exchanges between regional music and international currents.

Troldhaugen, Lysøen and Siljustøl,Ìýthe homes of three of Norway's greatest composers and artists through the times – Edvard Grieg, Ole Bull and Harald Sæverud – are a part ofÌýKode Art Museums and Composer Homes. KodeÌýis one of the largest museums for art, craft, design and music in the Nordic countries.

The Grieg Academy – Department of Music was established at the University of Bergen in 1995 and is now one of three departments at the Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design (KMD). Our profile is modelled on internationally recognised performing arts environments (classical, jazz, folk music), composition, music therapy, musicology and music education.

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