The Norwegian Government's Deputy Minister of Culture recently visited the Eikanger Bjorsvik Band as part of an extensive information gathering initiative aimed at developing a future national strategy for cultural volunteer working.

The minister was accompanied by the President and the General Secretary of the Norwegian Music Federation (NMF), as well as the Mayor of the Alver Municipality and Eikanger's own Chairperson, Astrid Byrknes, who is a former mayor and a member of the Christian Liberal Party in the Oslo parliament.

Presentation

The delegation heard a presentation given by Viggo Bjorge (above), who for many years has been an integral part of the Eikanger band management organisation.

He outlined the band's renowned history, but also its ongoing work in developing strategies to ensure future musical and artistic success, as well as help inspire future generations of brass band players in the region.

Viggo told 4BR that the visit was a significant endorsement of the long term work undertaken by the likes of Eikanger and Manger Mussiklag Bands, as well as a number of other well established brass bands in the area.

Endorsement

"It is a very important endorsement of the work of the NMF and of the brass band community that our opinions and viewpoints are being sought and hopefully acted upon for the next budget cycle.

Being able to cover both our history, but also our continued work in developing future generations of young players was very important. We were able to highlight the importance of musical excellence and innovation — from contest success to our commitment to our regional (HUBB) youth band, educational and in house 'musikkhuset' programmes."

It is a very important endorsement of the work of the NMF and of the brass band community that our opinions and viewpoints are being sought and hopefully acted upon for the next budget cycleViggo Bjorge

Interest

He added: "There was a great deal of interest in the outcomes of the initiatives undertaken and how many people have gone on the enjoy full time, part time or hugely rewarding amateur musical careers due to their involvement in brass banding.

Now we hope that it will provide a catalyst for investment in cultural volunteering that will further benefit brass banding in Norway."