⇐ Back to HFAA.org

Our Instructors

Our Schedule (all times US Central)

Our Program

Hardingfele classes. Our teachers and Zoom administrators are knowledgeable about the Zoom teaching environment, and they work closely together to ensure the best possible learning experience. All students are provided in advance with videos of the teachers performing the tunes they will teach. This enables students to become familiar with the tunes and the teachers' way of playing them before attempting to learn the intricate details of traditional Hardanger fiddle playing.

Dance classes. Setesdal is on the UNESCO World Heritage list because of their traditional dance (gangar), singing (stev), Hardanger fiddle and jawharp traditions. Sigrid Kjetilsdotter Jore and Kjell Nomeland will lead you into the world of eismadde, the couple dance from Setesdal. Focus will be not just on learning the moves, but also exploring how to move with the music, and how to make your steps and movements meaningful. You will also learn a lot more about Setesdal and its vibrant traditions and folklore!

Film, "Orton’s Ode and Troll Tuning”, and Q&A. American multi-talented musician, music professor, composer and hardingfele player Dan Trueman will introduce "Orton's Ode and Troll Tuning", a film he made for the HFAA's 2020 Online Festival. In it he explores the subtleties of what some call "alt-troll" tuning (nominally A-d'-f#'-e'', also called nedstilt kvart in Telemark), including a valuable tutorial on what to listen for when tuning a hardingfele, and he teaches one of his compositions for hardingfele in alt-troll tuning, "Orton's Ode". After the film Dan will present his further thoughts on ideas presented in the film and lead a Q&A session.

Luthiers' Panel. We will be bringing back the ever-popular Luthiers' Panel, featuring some of the best-known hardingfele makers in the U.S. This year, we will be joined by Lynn Berg (Eugene, Oregon), Maggie Gerty (Lindstrom, Minnesota), David Golber (Boston, Massachusetts), Bud Larsen (Brainerd, Minnesota), Karen Rebholz (Madison, Wisconsin) and Bevan Wulffenstejn (Moroni, Utah). The panelists would very much like to respond to any specific questions participants may have, such as strings (types, changing them etc.), bows, construction/repair, maintenance, purchasing, or anything else you can think of. Please send questions to winterworkshop@hfaa.org by January 22 (we won't publish your identity without your permission).

Samspel Session. Samspel ("group playing") is a foundational skill that we always teach at our workshops. Fiddlers will be provided in advance with the sheet music for the tunes to be performed, selected from the HFAA's "Samspel Tune Book" and ranging through different levels of difficulty. The session will be led by a staff member while participants follow along on mute.

"Lightning Round". A tradition at the HFAA's workshops, a "lightning round" is a session where fiddlers or other instrumentalists/vocalists sign up to perform one tune each in quick succession. This allows students to practice their performance skills in a low-stakes, supportive environment.

Dance Party! A program of live music for dancing featuring HFAA member musicians.

All sessions will be held on Zoom (https://zoom.us/).

More Information about our Instructors

Olav Luksengård Mjelva comes from Røros in the Sør-Trøndelag region of Norway. He began playing the regular fiddle at age seven and added Hardanger fiddle study a few years later. In 2010 Olav received the prestigious Spellemannprisen (the Norwegian Grammy award) for his debut solo album Fele/Hardingfele, Røros/Hallingdal, and in 2011 he again received the award as part of the Unni Boksasp Ensemble. In 2013 he was awarded the title of Norway’s folk musician of the year. He is a founding member of the groups SVER and Nordic Fiddlers Bloc, and he also performs and records as the duo Rydvall/Mjelva alongside Swedish nyckelharpa player Erik Rydvall. Olav is highly sought after as a studio musician and has played on more than 60 releases. He is also a widely used fiddle and hardingfele teacher and dance musician both in Norway and abroad. His composition credits include several documentaries, short movies and theater projects, and his recordings are featured in a number of high-profile films and computer games, including Loki (2021), The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) and the Playstation game God of War Ragnarök (2022).

Vidar Skrede is a Nordic folk musician and teacher from Haugesund, Norway, living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He plays and teaches hardingfele, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, and bouzouki. He has a background in traditional music from Rogaland (southwestern Norway) and has a master’s degree in Nordic folk music from the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. He has wide insight into and mastery of traditional fiddle music and styles from Scandinavia and beyond, besides his home tradition from Vestlandet. Vidar is known for numerous bands, including Vidar Skrede DYNAMO BAND and Geitungen, and he has also performed with artists Vegar Vårdal, Kristian Bugge, SVER, Arja Saijonmaa, Liz Carroll, Bruce Molsky, and Natalie Haas. Vidar's CDs include Bra Kast and Langt Ute with Geitungen, and Happy Monkey with Vidar Skrede DYNAMO BAND.

Sigrid Kjetilsdotter Jore is a Norwegian traditional singer and dancer from Valle in the valley of Setesdal, Norway, educated at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Sigrid has competed in local and national competitions in Norwegian folk music since the age of five. As a dancer, Sigrid has long experience both as a performer and as a teacher. She teaches the "gangar from Setesdal" to people of all ages and levels. In 2011 she founded a folklore dance group called Sæbyggjan (the name means people from Setesdal), and the group has now over 40 active members.

Kjell K. Nomeland is a Norwegian traditional dancer from Rysstad in Setesdal, Norway. He began dancing the setesdalsgangar when he was 13. He is now part of the dance group Sæbyggjan, and competes in local and national competitions as well as teaching dance and performing.

Eivind Tanche-Larsen Knutsen is a hardingfele and munnharpe (jaw-harp) player from Rysstad in Setesdal who plays tunes he learned from local musicians. A member of the performing ensemble Sæbyggjan, he is often used as a musician for dance courses and concerts. Eivind studied at the University of South-Eastern Norway at Rauland. He has won the junior class in the munnharpe competition at Norway’s National Competition (Landskappleik) four times, and as a result was awarded the prestigious Furestipend prize for young musicians in each of those years. He has also received the Valle District Cultural Stipend several times because of his talent on both hardingfele and munnharpe. Here is Eivind playing Bestelanden, a gangar named after a village in Setesdal: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1123334744783489

Dan Trueman is a musician: a fiddler, a collaborator, a teacher, a developer of new instruments, a composer of music for ensembles of all shapes and sizes, and a lover of the Hardanger fiddle. He has worked with ensembles such as So Percussion, the PRISM Quartet, Eighth Blackbird, Gallicantus, the JACK Quartet, as well as individuals like scientist Naomi Leonard, choreographer Rebecca Lazier, poet Paul Muldoon, director Mark DeChiazza, fiddlers Brittany Haas and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, vocalist Iarla Ó Lionáird, guitarist/songwriter Monica Mugan, pianists Adam Sliwinski and Cristina Altamura, and many others. Dan’s work has been recognized by fellowships, grants, commissions, and awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Barlow Endowment, the Bessies, the Fulbright Commission, the American Composers Forum, the MacArthur Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, Meet the Composer, among others. He is Professor and Chair, Department of Music at Princeton University.