New perspectives on her music

– The teaching here is a bit different from back home. It’s been great for me to see how music education can take a different approach. Here they for example focus a lot on room to create our music and develop our own voice and also much time to collaborate with others, says Elli.

Oslo was a coincidence

In her college town of Tübingen, Elli is completing a bachelor’s degree in Jazz, Pop, and Church Music, with piano as her primary instrument.

– I always wanted to study abroad, and I felt this was my last chance to do so. I have a German friend in Oslo, and last year, Vegard Schow from NLA visited our school. That’s how I learned about the opportunities here. And that’s how I ended up at NLA and in Oslo, she explains.

Spending a semester in Oslo has been an exciting change, and Elli highlights several positive aspects of her stay. Coming from a small music scene in Tübingen, she appreciates that NLA has many music students.

– It’s good for me to have lots of people around. My school is quite small. Also studying with young musicians here has been wonderful. The students are younger than those back home, and it’s refreshing to experience a different kind of energy, she says.

Although the language barrier has been a challenge at times, she believes it works out. –Music is more than words, and that’s probably why it works, she adds with a smile.

Wanting to create more of her own music

A key part of the music program at NLA Staffeldts Music is the subject Interpret, which takes place every Wednesday. During these sessions, music students present their work and give each other feedback. Before Elli heads back to Germany, she will also showcase her music in one of these sessions.

– It feels like a big step for me. Listening to the other students has been inspiring, and now I want to create more of my own music and feel comfortable sharing it with others. I learned that encouraging one another means a lot, she reflects.

Bringing out more of herself

NLA Staffeldts Music is known for rhythmic music, which encourages a freer style of playing compared to, for example, classical music.

– What I will also take home with me is that I’ve learned to play more by ear. I think that allows you to bring out more of yourself. It’s a great challenge for me to do more of that,” she says.

Describing Norwegians as relaxed

Finding a place to live in Oslo wasn’t easy, but she eventually secured a room in Grünerløkka.

– It’s quite expensive, but I didn’t find anything else. Still, it’s a lovely place, and I enjoy the high ceilings and ornate stucco, she says, clearly pleased.

She has formed a positive impression of Norwegians and doesn’t fully agree with the notion that they can be hard to approach. She describes Norwegians as relaxed.

– One day, when I was on the tram, everyone had to get off due to technical problems. I was surprised that nobody complained, they just got off. In Germany, people would have been grumbling and reacting more. It was impressive, she says, laughing.

What’s the strangest thing about norwegians?

– Their eating habits! she answers quickly. –When the person I live with comes home at three or four o’clock, I’m having my coffee break, but she starts making dinner. It’s strange; it’s so early, says Elli, who, like the rest of Europe, eats dinner around seven.

Future plans are open

Elli will return home before Christmas and finish her studies in Tübingen. As for her future, it’s still an open question.

– I could work as a church musician, but I’d also like to do some freelance work and create my own music. And maybe I’ll study a bit more, she concludes, adding that her time in Norway has shown her that it’s possible to do multiple things—working in church music while also exploring pop or jazz on the side.