Reflections: Sarah Thomson

When we arrived in Voss I wasn’t too sure what to expect but the experience overall has been absolutely fantastic and I can’t believe it’s all by with already. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to go on this trip and would recommend it to anyone thinking about doing it in the future.

I was at placement with Eve, another music student, in a local music school, a cafe and the local Jazz festival during my time in Voss. In the school we were mainly taking part in or observing classes between 1st and 3rd year (ages 16 - 20) but also got to teach the occasional music history class where we got to teach the students a bit about traditional Shetland music and a bit of Shetland dancing which they all seemed to really enjoy. As well as spending time with the students in school we also met up with them socially and hope to keep in touch with them in the future.

The cafe we worked in was for the public and athletes at the ski biathlon competition that was going on at the time. There we were mainly working in the outside tents and the scenery was fantastic, and it was worth travelling up there every day just for the beautiful view. At the Jazz festival we were given a lot to do. The days leading up to the festival were very busy with odd jobs like preparing the venues, moving equipment around and even greeting some of the artists who would be performing over the weekend. We were also given the opportunity to play at one of the seminars the day before the festival officially began. Our boss at the festival was particularly lovely and has invited us back in the next few years to work for her again and we will definitely be keeping in touch.

I have taken back from Voss lots of new experiences. I didn’t expect to but I really enjoyed the cooking, cleaning and washing. Most of the group ate together every night and everyone did their bit to chip in with the cooking and the dishes. I have come back home with a real sense of independence and responsibility after living away from home. 

It’s made me really keen to be more adventurous with my travel and I would definitely go on another trip to work in another country in the future. It was particularly easy in Norway because nearly everyone we met spoke fluent English and were very keen to practice their English with you.

The experience I have gathered while working at the Jazz festival and the school will be beneficial to me as a music student because in the music industry it counts for everything. And because I’m unsure as to what exact career I would like to go into it’s given me an idea of what it would be like to teach music and what working at a big festival is like.