Registration open for Creative Synergies 2026
Creative Synergies returns to UiA in week 9 (23–27 February 2026), bringing together artists, educators, researchers, and students for an intensive week of seminars, group work, and performances in Kristiansand, Norway.
The week opens with two shared seminar days featuring guests such as Robert Henke, Pamela Burnard, Magne Furuholmen, Jana Winderen, Martin Terefe, SØS Gunver Ryberg, Jan Bang, Carmen Villain, André Bratten, Johanna Scheie Orellana, Jonas Bjerre, Heidi Partti, Lars Andersson, Eirik Havenes and others. In the following days, students work in themed tracks (scoring for picture, co-writing, popular music performance, cross-aesthetic projects), while visiting artists and teachers take part in case-driven roundtables on pedagogy and curriculum. The week concludes with student showcases on Friday. The aim is to connect artistic practice with educational design and turn insights into concrete methods that can fuel both education and artistic practice.
Participation is free for staff and students, and we encourage institutions to bring students. Students and staff from the Nordic countries and EU may in some cases be eligible to have their travel covered by their home institution. In addition, CreaTeME have some limited funds that visiting students and staff can apply for.
CreaTeME’s mandate is to strengthen the field of music education and to serve as a nexus between institutions, artistic practice, and research. It is therefore essential that we meet, share experiences, and discuss current challenges and possibilities together.
Creative Synergies 2026 · Program
23–27 February 2026 · Kristiansand
Monday 23 February – Shared seminar day I
09:30 Welcome to Creative Synergies 2026
09:45 Talk: Eirik Havenes
11:15 Break
11:30 Parallel: Ole Henrik Moe and André Bratten // Workshop with Eirik Havenes
12:30 Break
13:00 Lunch
13:45 Talk: Robert Henke
15:15 Break
15:30 Talk: Artist-in-residence: Apparatjik (Magne Furuholmen, Martin Terefe, Jonas Bjerre)
17:00 Break
17:30 CreaTeME international initiative with Jan Bang & Ingolv Haaland w/ students
18:45 Staff: Meet & greet with short informal presentation
19:15 Pizza
20:00 Concert: Robert Henke
Tuesday 24 February – Shared seminar day II
09:00 Talk: Magne Furuholmen
10:30 Break
10:45 Jana Winderen and SØS Gunver Ryberg
12:15 Lunch
13:00 Talk: Carmen Villain & Johanna Scheie Orellana
14:30 Break
14:45 Parallel: Talk: Jonas Bjerre // Talk: Martin Terefe
16:15 Break
16:30 Parallel Track launch for: Scoring for picture // Performance // Songmaking // Cross-aesthetic // Master concert prep.
17:00 Parallel Roundtable on: Cross-platform aesthetics // Songmaking Collective with students // Roundtable on entrepreneurship with students.
Wednesday 25 February – Tracks and roundtables I
Students: Group work in all tracks all day (see separate track schedule) and group mentoring with invited artists, artistic in residence and staff.
09:00 Staff primer with Pamela Burnard
10:00 Parallel staff roundtables: Entrepreneurship in music education // Risk and learning within music education programmes
12:30 Break (Lunch for staff and guests)
13:15 Roundtable: MishMash centre initiative, AI and creativity
15:45 Break
16:00 Roundtable + network meeting: Songmaking collective
20:00 Dinner (for staff and guests)
Thursday 26 February – Tracks and roundtables II
Students: Group work in all tracks all day (see separate track schedule) and group mentoring with invited artists, artistic in residence and staff.
09:00 Staff primer with Heidi Partti
10:00 Roundtable: Implementing artistic research in BA/MA programmes
12:30 Break (Lunch for staff and guests)
13:15 Roundtable: Assessing artistic growth in performance-centred programmes
15:15 Break and snack
16:00 Showcase: Songmaking track
19:00 Showcase: Master concert prep
20:00 Break
20:30 Showcase: Master concert prep (continued).
Friday 27 February – Showcases and closing
Students: See track schedule for sound check and get in. No planned program for the songmaking track on Friday.
09:00 Staff primer with Eirik Sørbø
09:45 Break
10:00 Roundtable: Challenges when designing courses in electronic music theory and history
12:00 Break (Lunch for staff and guests)
12:45 Showcase: Performance projects
14:45 Showcase: Scoring for picture
15:15 Pizza
15:45 Showcase: Cross aesthetics
What happened at the last Creative Synergies?
Photo credits: CreaTeME // Anja Kathrine Laland Gyberg