Welcome to Ingesund School of Music

What does your life actually sound like? Jenny Wilson, adjunct professor at Ingesund School of Music, believes that your personal life journey is the most exciting thing about you as a songwriter, producer, and artist. What is your story, and how do you share it? Daring to experiment with music is something close to Jenny’s heart, and she will continue doing just that with the students in the music production program for another year, with support of the Wettergren Foundation.

Throughout your career, you’ve created productions and works that reflect your life. Some parts include traumas you’ve experienced. Hasn’t it been scary and difficult to make your experiences public?

What are the similarities and differences between Sweden and India when it comes to musical traditions and working as a music teacher in India? Gunnel Holmgren, a teacher in the music education program at Ingesund School of Music, has visited India twice, including Karlstad University's Indian Study Center in Varanasi and Study Point in Dharamsala. There, she met Bilambita Banisudha, Head of the Department of Music at Sikkim University in Gangtok, who is visiting Ingesund School of Music during September.

Bilambita Banisudha is an experienced academic and musician specializing in Hindustani classical and semi-classical music from India. She holds a PhD in Hindustani vocal music from Banaras Hindu University. Her academic background also includes a master’s degree from Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata and a bachelor’s degree with honors from Vishva-Bharati in Shantiniketan, a central Indian university founded in 1921 by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

The time is here – the building is coming back to life, and we are truly looking forward to welcoming you here at Ingesund School of Music. After a summer with an unusual amount of sunshine, we hope you’ve had the chance to rest, gather inspiration, and recharge for a new academic year.

We who work here are excited to once again fill the building with music, curiosity, and the wonderful sense of community we call the “Ingesund spirit.”

Warm welcome to a new academic year!

Mats Gustavii, Head of Ingesund School of Music

Concert pianist Aristo Sham, 29, from Hong Kong, alumnus and faculty member at Ingesund School of Music and resident of Arvika, Sweden, has won the gold medal at the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Texas.

After intense performances viewed by a global audience of over 20 million, he was awarded first prize, which includes over one million SEK in prize money, international tours, a recording contract, and the audience award.

In the final, he performed works by Brahms and Mendelssohn—the latter marking its first-ever appearance in the competition’s history. Sham has a strong connection to Sweden through his collaboration with Professor Julia Mustonen-Dahlkvist at Ingesund. She describes him as a rare musician with deep artistic integrity.

Earlier this week, the Polar Music Prize was awarded at the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm. In front of a diverse audience of national and international musicians, actors, other prominent guests, and members of the Swedish royal family, Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, Herbie Hancock, and Barbara Hannigan received the Polar Music Prize. As per tradition, an ensemble from Ingesund School of Music performed on the red carpet as guests arrived at the gala.

Jonathan Höglund, a student in the music teacher education programme specializing in jazz vocals, was the soloist of the day. How did it feel to perform for the crème de la crème of musicians from around the world?

Western music history has largely favored male artists, while female and non-binary artists and composers have been largely excluded from historical narratives. This has contributed to musical canons where important voices are missing. This is the topic of a seminar held at Ingesund School of Music in mid-May.

How can canonical traditions in music, that is, perceptions of what is most central within musical traditions, be challenged and expanded from a gender perspective? "Challenging musical canons" is a joint research and development project between Guro Gravem Johansen, Professor of Music Pedagogy at Ingesund School of Music, and Eva Beneke, Associate Professor of Classical Guitar, Gjertrud Pedersen, Associate Professor of Music History at the Norwegian Academy of Music.