What is on offer within Norwegian extracurricular schools of music and performing arts? Findings from a national survey

Abstract

This article presents the results of a survey among rectors of schools of music and performing arts in Norway. The aim was to map the schools’ offerings in terms of musical genres and related instruments and ensembles, and to determine how the availability of different genres was distributed demographically and geographically. A questionnaire including structured and open-ended questions was sent electronically to all rectors in August 2019 (response rate 58.4%, or 227 out of 389 rectors). The rectors were selected for the survey because they were the ones that had the complete overview of their school’s offerings. The data were analysed statistically and qualitatively. The results show that popular music and Western classical music occupy almost equal space in the schools; popular music is slightly more available. Norwegian folk music and other genres have more marginalised positions. The distribution correlates with patterns of social class and local, regional, and assumed cultural-musical identities, but no unequivocal governing logic of access was found. The findings were interpreted against a Bourdieusian-inspired framework that highlights the symbolic meanings of music.