Youth seminar and concert
10 October 2026 | Hoppern ungdomsskole, Jeløy, Moss
Seminar starts at 11:00 | Concert at 15:00
Participation and concert are free

For the third year in a row, NordSync invites young musicians from Østfold to Sammen på scenen – a project where students rehearse, learn and perform side by side with professional musicians.

Over the past three years, Sammen på scenen has developed into an important meeting place for young musicians, professional performers, kulturskoler and voluntary orchestra environments in Østfold. The idea is simple, but central to NordSync’s work: young musicians should not only receive instruction from professionals or listen to them perform – they should become active participants in a professional artistic production.

In 2026, the project takes a new step with Nordisk Suite, a new work by Norwegian composer Bodvar Drotninghaug Moe, commissioned by NordSync Project with support from Det norske komponistfond. The project also marks Moe’s 75th anniversary.

A new Nordic work

Nordisk Suite is written for two characteristic Nordic folk instruments – Hardanger fiddle and nyckelharpa – accompanied by chamber and youth orchestra.

Inspired by Norwegian and Swedish folk music, the work explores ideas of cultural exchange, friendship and cooperation between the Nordic countries. Classical compositional structures meet folk-music traditions, while solo passages, cadenzas and improvisational elements create space for the individual artistic voices of the performers.

The soloists are Duo Nøkkelfele:

Sunniva Herland Monstad – Hardanger fiddle
Hsiang-Yin Hsiao – nyckelharpa

Around them, professional musicians from Østfold Strykekvartett join young musicians from kulturskoler in Moss, Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad, as well as participants from voluntary youth and orchestra environments in the region.

From the classroom to the concert stage

An important strength of Sammen på scenen is the connection between the students’ everyday music education and the larger production.

Members of Østfold Strykekvartett also teach at kulturskoler in Moss and Sarpsborg and already work with many of the participating students through their regular instrumental education. This creates continuity between weekly lessons, local preparation, the joint seminar and the final performance.

Before the seminar, participants prepare their parts locally together with their own teachers. On 10 October, the different groups come together in Moss for an intensive day of rehearsals and artistic work.

During the seminar, the young musicians will work with the professional musicians through:

• section and group rehearsals
• full orchestra rehearsals
• work with ensemble sound, rhythm, phrasing and musical communication
• guidance in professional rehearsal and concert practices
• direct ensemble playing with professional musicians and soloists
• preparation of Nordisk Suite for the public performance

The seminar culminates in a public concert at 15:00, where the young participants perform on the same stage as Østfold Strykekvartett and Duo Nøkkelfele.

Young musicians as real artistic participants

The ambition is that the students should experience the entire artistic process – from the first local preparation of the music to sectional rehearsals, full ensemble work, general rehearsal and public performance.

They work with the same musical material as the professional musicians and become part of the ensemble rather than being presented as a separate student group.

For many participants, this is a rare opportunity to work closely with professional chamber musicians while also participating in the first performances of a newly composed Norwegian work together with established folk-music soloists.

The encounter with Duo Nøkkelfele and Østfold Strykekvartett is intended to provide both concrete musical experience and artistic inspiration: new approaches to ensemble playing, unfamiliar musical traditions and professional role models for further development.

Building connections across Østfold – and across the Nordic region

Sammen på scenen builds on an established cooperation between professional musicians, kulturskoler and voluntary music organisations in Østfold, but the 2026 edition expands the model both geographically and artistically.

Students from several municipalities meet in one ensemble, creating new connections between young musicians who would not necessarily otherwise play together.

At the same time, Nordisk Suite connects the Østfold seminar to a much larger Nordic project. The production brings together Norwegian and Swedish musical traditions and forms part of NordSync’s broader work to create connections between young musicians, professional artists and voluntary cultural environments across the Nordic region.

After the Østfold performances, Nordisk Suite continues to Nordland, where the work becomes the artistic centrepiece of Nordic Youth Music Initiative – Helgeland 2026, bringing together young musicians from Norway, Sweden and Finland.

In this way, the young musicians in Moss become part of something larger than a one-day seminar: a production that travels between regions and creates connections between local music education, professional artistic practice and Nordic cultural cooperation.

Goals for the participants

Through Sammen på scenen – Nordisk Suite, we want young musicians to:

• develop their ensemble and orchestral skills
• experience achievement within an ambitious artistic production
• become familiar with professional rehearsal and concert practices
• meet and play with young musicians from other municipalities
• strengthen motivation for continued instrumental study and ensemble playing
• encounter Nordic folk music and newly composed music through practical participation
• gain experience performing alongside professional musicians and established soloists

Sammen på scenen is therefore not only about preparing a concert. It is about building bridges between the kulturskole, voluntary music organisations and professional cultural life – and giving young musicians the opportunity to experience themselves as genuine artistic collaborators.

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Concerts connected to Sammen på scenen – Nordisk Suite

The seminar culminates in public performances where the young participants and professional musicians share the stage. Both concerts in Østfold have free entrance.

• Saturday 10 October 2026, 15:00 – Hoppern ungdomsskole, Jeløy, Moss
  Nordisk Suite – Sammen på scenen
  Young musicians perform together with Østfold Strykekvartett and Duo Nøkkelfele.
  Free entrance
  
• Sunday 11 October 2026, 14:00 – Værk Scene, Gamlebyen, Fredrikstad
  Nordisk Suite – Fredrikstad
  A professional chamber-music presentation of Nordisk Suite with Østfold Strykekvartett and Duo Nøkkelfele.
  Free entrance
  

After the Østfold programme, Nordisk Suite continues north as part of Nordic Youth Music Initiative – Helgeland 2026, where the work will be performed with a large Nordic ensemble of young and professional musicians in Mo i Rana.

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A strong local partnership

Østfold Musikkforening has become a strong and reliable local partner for NordSync in Østfold. Through our cooperation, we have been able to build contacts between musicians, kulturskoler, youth ensembles and other local cultural environments, and to turn ambitious project ideas into practical activities for children and young people.

Sammen på scenen is one of the clearest results of this cooperation. Together, we have developed the seminar into a recurring annual event where young musicians are given the opportunity to meet, rehearse and perform with professional artists. The continuity of the partnership makes it possible to build on previous experience each year, strengthen the local network and create increasingly ambitious opportunities for young musicians in Østfold.

This year’s Nordisk Suite project is another important step in that shared work.