TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 09:00-12:00 // GALLERIET BARE

This roundtable will be chaired by prof. Eirik Askerøi (UiA, Department of Popular Music).

This roundtable brings together songwriters, producers, and scholars to share and discuss insights and perspectives on the evolving relationship between songwriting and production. The discussion will revolve around key issues concerning how songwriting and production are approached in higher music education and the challenges that arise in balancing artistic creativity and technical skills in teaching these fields. Furthermore, the roundtable will encourage discussions on what contemporary songwriting and production is, and, more importantly, what the relationship between the two has become. How do songwriting and production intersect in contemporary music-making? In what ways can they be considered complementary stages, and to what extent do they merge into a single creative process?

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 13:00-16:00 // GALLERIET BARE

This roundtable will be chaired by prof. Torun Eriksen (UiA, Department of Popular Music).

This roundtable will explore the multifaceted role of artistic research (AR) within education and creative practice in the field of popular music, encompassing its broad spectrum of approaches. Through the lens of three selected cases, we will discuss the challenges and opportunities we face as educators, musicians, artists, and researchers. The session will emphasize the intersections between these roles and how they inform and enrich one another. Key questions guiding the discussion include: How can we effectively integrate AR to enrich our teaching and creative work? How do we conceptualize AR within the arts from our individual and collective perspectives? How might we foster meaningful dialogues that contribute to the relevance of AR to our field, as a discipline, practice, and discourse? Finally, the session will address how we can find ways to communicate and share ideas and experiences that enhance the relevance and appeal of AR within the field of popular music, both inside and outside our institutions. The roundtable seeks to cultivate a shared understanding of AR’s potential to connect education, practice, and research, reinforcing its significance in popular music studies and practice.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 17:00-20:00 // HOVEDSALEN BARE

This roundtable will be chaired by assist. prof. Bodil Kvernenes Nørsett (Ansgar College/UiA, Department of Popular Music).

In this roundtable all of the participants are asked to share and discuss their assessment practices for performance based subjects. Critical questions are: What are they assessing? How are they assessing? Why are they assessing? When are they assessing? Who are assessing? In what ways are the students contributing to the assessment? What are the learning outcomes of the assessment. In what ways is the assessment practice sustainable (i.e. they learn not only to be assessed but also to assess themselves and others). How does the assessment practice vary based on instrument/specialization, the program of the students and the teachers involved in the process of assessment. Who (if any) is assessing the assessment?

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 09:00-12:00 // GALLERIET BARE

The roundtable will be chaired by prof. Eirik Askerøi (UiA, Department of Popular Music).

This roundtable will explore various aspects of the history of electronic music, emphasizing its dynamic evolution and cultural significance. First, we will discuss key issues such as canon formation, asking how certain works and artists have come to define the genre's historical narrative. Who decides what is central, and how does this shape our understanding the diversity of electronic music? Second, we will bridge history and theory, examining how theoretical frameworks provide insights into electronic music’s transformative power. From musique concrète to techno, we will discuss how theoretical contexts illuminate the genre’s intersections with art, society, and technology. Thirdly, the roundtable will consider the creative use of technology in electronic music history. From early analogue synthesizers to cutting-edge digital tools, we trace how artists have repurposed technology to expand sonic possibilities and push artistic boundaries.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 12:30-15:30 // GALLERIET BARE

This roundtable will be chaired by assist. prof. Andreas Waaler Røshol (UiA, Department of Popular Music).

This roundtable focuses on the challenges and nuances of one-to-one tuition and artistic supervision in higher (electronic) popular music education. In the last decades, there has been a steady increase in the Nordic countries of institutions that offer laptop as main instrument within music education. Key issues concerning one-to-one tuition are the role of the teacher, the role of the teaching, the role of the student, and the role of the program and institution. All of these roles converge on questions concerning what education should work for (axiology) – What should the goal of the education be? Furthermore, What kind of differences, if any, are there between laptop as a main instrument compared to traditional instruments? This roundtable seeks to discuss different configurations of how these roles are negotiated through four factors. First, is it possible or preferable to avoid aesthetic hierarchies? Second, how aesthetic hierarchies can function as agents of both change and stasis. Third, how are aesthetic hierarchies manifested through feedback and dialogue? Fourth, how this dialogue is used as a means of both reinforcing, questioning, validating and challenging the students’ work and the students themselves. By focusing on specific cases, the roundtable seeks to map how different readings of the goal and the role of the teacher impact the pedagogical practice of one-to-one tuition within higher electronic popular music education.

THURSDAY, FFEBRUARY 27, 09:00-12:00 // STUDIO 3rd FLOOR BARE

The roundtable will be chaired by prof. Daniel Nordgård (UiA, Department of Popular Music).

As popular music performance education increasingly aims to prepare students for careers as independent artists and creative entrepreneurs, educators are tasked with designing programs that engage with how the students and their musical practice can either create their own workplace within or join existing opportunities within the music business. The discussion will focus on how educational programs can be designed to support students’ artistic growth while fostering the practical and entrepreneurial competencies necessary for professional success. Key themes include: Curriculum Design – How can courses integrate creative development with entrepreneurship training, offering students tools for navigating the industry without compromising their artistry? Practical Skills and Output – What practical elements should entrepreneurship education cover, such as project management, self-promotion, social media and branding, networking, and financial literacy? Feedback and Dialogue – How can teachers provide feedback on creative work in ways that challenge and refine students’ artistic and professional ambitions while avoiding taking on the role akin to managers or A&Rs? This roundtable will bring together diverse perspectives to explore how education can balance fostering individuality with preparing students for the realities of the music business, ensuring they leave equipped to thrive as self-sustaining artists.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 09:00-12:00 // GALLERIET BARE

The roundtable will be chaired by assoc. prof. Eirik Sørbø (UiA, Department of Popular Music).

This roundtable will explore how AI impacts higher music education, particularly within performance-focused programs. As AI continues to transform creative industries, music education must adapt to prepare students for its implications on artistry, creativity, and professional practice. Key questions include: What does AI mean for music educators, how should educators attempt to define and discuss AI with its students? How does the emergence of AI impact assessment of students creative or scholarly work? How does AI impact the priorities of curriculum design and pedagogical practice within music education? In what way can AI be integrated as a creative tool within all facets of musical entrepreneurship–from compositional practice to promotion and back-office functions? With a focus on the practical and creative potential of AI, this session will examine whether AI can advance creative work and streamline administrative processes in the music industry.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 16:00-16:45 // BRAAK STUDIO

Extending The Orchestra I

Jan Bang will present his work on Re-amping the National Broadcasting Orchestra (KORK) for Nils Petter Molvær's Certainty of Tides (Dolby Atmos Mix), a project that involved re-capturing the orchestra's sound through 62 speakers in Kilden Concert Hall. Bang, a Norwegian musician and record producer known for collaborations with artists like Sidsel Endresen, Eivind Aarset, Arve Henriksen, Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, Nils Petter Molvær, and Erik Honoré (with whom he co-founded the Punkt festival in 2005), will discuss his role in blending orchestral and electronic elements. A pioneer in live sampling, Bang is also a professor of electronic music at the University of Agder.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 17:00-17:45 @ BRAAK STUDIO

Extending The Orchestra II

SØS Gunver Ryberg, known for her transformative, genre-defying electronic music, has been honored with numerous accolades throughout her career. In her presentation, she will discuss her work COEXISTENCE, recorded by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and featured on Dalia’s Mixtape, a debut album by conductor Dalia Stasevska. Ryberg’s approach blends orchestral sounds with electronic sounds, creating dynamic sonic expressions that blurs the boundaries between each other. This session will explore her creative process and the way she challenges musical conventions.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 18:00-20:00 // BRAAK STUDIO

Extending The Orchestra III

In this listening session, pianist Mariam Kharatyan, live electronic artist Alessandra Bossa, and sound engineer Roald Råsberg will present music samples in Dolby Atmos from the upcoming album RE-CREATION and share insights from their collaboration with the audience. The music of the RE-CREATION cross-disciplinary artistic project takes an innovative and experimental approach to re-interpreting Armenian folk and spiritual music. It features the intertwining of contrasting sound aesthetics - classical, folk, and electronic music - captured during live improvised recording sessions with immersive audio technology.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 18:30-20:00 // HOVEDSALEN BARE

This session, held as part of Creative Synergies 2025, extends the discussion from the Tuesday roundtable on Artistic Research (AR), providing space for in-depth presentations and dialogue on how AR is integrated into higher music education.

Key questions include: How is AR embedded within educational structures? What literature, expositions, and theoretical frameworks shape AR pedagogy? How do students present and evaluate their artistic research? What challenges arise when implementing AR in music education?

The session will be initiated by Prof. Dr. Wolf-Georg Zaddach (Macromedia University), who will present insights into different institutional models, assessment methods, and ongoing developments in artistic research. The session aims to facilitate cross-institutional exchange, identify best practices, and critically examine how AR is evolving as an academic and creative practice in contemporary music education.