Swedish organ training practices

The organ is an important part of church music practice in both the Evangelical Lutheran and Catholic church traditions. The instrument is also used in non-denominational contexts. It is not uncommon, for example, for concert halls to be equipped with organs or for organ recitals to be held in churches without any particular religious affiliation. The organ can thus be said to be part of both denominational and non-denominational musical practice.

In Swedish educational contexts, organ training is largely carried out within church music programmes. The aim of this study is to investigate how folk high schools and colleges describe and define organ education, what they consider to be important knowledge, how teaching is organised - and why.

The focus is on organ education in relation to the professional field. One area of interest is how the Church of Sweden has dealt with educational issues since its separation from the state. Another aspect that has affected all higher education in Sweden is the Bologna process. The aim of the study is to develop knowledge about how these societal changes have affected Swedish church music education.

Examples of such processes of change are the introduction of the three-tiered educational ladder in higher education (bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes) and the establishment of the Church of Sweden's own degree system, the Church of Sweden's Church Musician's Degree.

The data will be collected through interviews with those responsible for organ programmes in Sweden, and the request will be sent to all schools that have some kind of organ training. Those responsible for church music education at the Swedish Institute for Church Music Education (SKUI) will also be asked to provide an employer's perspective.

In addition to the interviews, curricula and other relevant documents such as reports on organ and church music education will be analysed.

The research project will be carried out within the field of music education.