Advisor, Norwegian Academy of Music

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?
I grew up in Northern Norway with German parents, studied saxophone in Manchester, UK, and music education at the Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH) in Oslo. I still teach from time to time, and very much enjoy playing the saxophone (which I mostly do in wind orchestras and big bands), but most of all I enjoy being involved with what is happening behind the scenes. During my studies I did orchestral administration as an elective, ran a concert series, and worked as an intern at the culture and communication department of the Norwegian embassy in Berlin.

Having lived both on a tiny island with 150 inhabitants, and in some of the larger cities in Europe, Oslo currently seems like the perfectly sized place for me and my husband to live our lives. With the photos I'm pretending to be more of an outdoor person then I really am, but I do love swimming in the sea and going on an occasional mountain hike.

WHAT IS YOUR PATH TO THE CURRENT POSITION?
When the need for some extra help arose in the international office at NMH, I was asked whether I would be interested in working there part time for some months while finishing my master thesis. It was quickly clear to me that this was exactly the kind of job I wanted. This was three years ago. Since then the international activity at NMH has grown, and I was lucky enough to be given a full time position here.

WHAT IS YOUR PASSION IN YOUR JOB?
My job is varied enough to avoid me getting bored and has the perfect balance of routine tasks and exciting new undertakings. Starting new partnerships, nurturing old ones and creating opportunities for international collaboration is rewarding in many ways. While I quite enjoy writing applications for funding and keeping track of finances, similarly to other spotlight coordinators, I do however most of all love meeting, assisting and being surrounded by friendly and interesting people every day: Students, teachers and fellow administrative colleagues. Following the students in the process of preparing for an adventure abroad, and welcoming the international students here at the start of term are some of my favourite parts of the job.