Research Catalogue

This exposition serves as an archive for the project "Meetings with Remarkable and Unremarkable Trees", where Annette Arlander spends time with specific trees and poses for camera together with them. The exposition is under construction

This artistic research investigates the timbre of the violin in Ottoman music from the perspective of a musician outside the tradition. Its goal is not only to understand how this distinctive sound is created but also to experience how cultural, historical, and stylistic influences shape it. Approaching the tradition as both learner and artist, I learn from master musicians, immerse myself in traditional musical environments, and engage in reflective creative practice. I explore how violinists trained in Western classical music can enter this tradition respectfully, embody its nuances, and remain true to its core. Using four guiding frameworks—tacit knowledge, meşk - oral transmission, cultural immersion, and instrument modification—I document a journey of listening, learning, and transformation. This process integrates literature review, conceptual framing, artistic methodology, and reflective analysis, turning the violin into a space where diverse musical traditions engage in meaningful dialogue. Key outcomes of this study show that timbre in Ottoman violin playing is not fixed but culturally constructed and personally shaped. Timbre is deeply contextual, influenced by cultural models like the human voice and traditional instruments, and expressed through subtle choices in vibrato, ornamentation, bowing, and instrument setup. The expressive identity of Ottoman music relies on sensitivity and subtlety, with small variations significantly affecting the emotional and modal character of the music. Learning in this tradition depends heavily on embodied, tacit knowledge passed down orally through the meşk system, where core concepts such as makam nuance and microtonality are absorbed through long-term listening, singing, and playing alongside masters. Deep listening and cultural immersion were essential for developing stylistic understanding, revealing nuances that notation alone cannot capture.

Abstract The incentive for this research was to explore ways of integrating the physicality of singing into vocal education by means of the Musicality of Movement (MoM) approach. Musicality of Movement is a physical performance training program designed for musicians. Traditionally the importance of the physicality of singing is recognized, yet it remains underexposed in vocal training, which eventually can lead to inhibited vocal freedom and wooden or awkward performances. The Musicality of Movement approach (MoM) opens ways to freer, more imaginative stage presence, better physical awareness and more expressive singing. The working hypothesis was: Integrating the Musicality of Movement approach into classical voice education will offer singers tools to enhance stage presence, imaginative expression, clarity of performative skills and can create ways to find physical and mental wellbeing on stage. The hypothesis was confirmed by the results of the three interventions—consisting of MoM lessons and workshops—that were executed during the academic year 2023-2024, with three groups of voice students, in three different settings. Interviews and questionnaires were analysed to give an impression of how working with the MoM approach supported performative skills and stage presence. Positive results were obtained from relatively small groups of students which shows a need for future research over a longer period and with a larger research population. Most mentioned keywords to indicate what the MoM-lessons brought the students were body awareness, better breathing, performance skills and playfulness. The practicality of the approach was shown by the fact that participants mentioned to use the exercises in their individual vocal practice.

The Bachelors’s Programme in Dance Pedagogy at Stockholm University of the Arts, Sweden, have gone through a major restructuring leading to an updated program, on demand by students and staff. This exposition gives you an overview of the process of changing the program during the years 2020 - 2023. It guides you through the phases of the change project, highlights documents governing and forming the changes made, and links to research that were conducted during the project period and that deepened the knowledge created through the change process. Our first step was to listen into the field’s concerns and ideas about dance education today. We scanned the field for signals of change and created a collaborative map of dance pedagogical practices in contemporary times. From this map we derived design principles and scenarios for a new BA in Dance Pedagogy. After a workshop series with students of the department, it was decided that the new program should be based on the hybrid research methodology A/R/Tography. A new educational plan and course plans were created for the new BA. Courses corresponding to the positions as artist, researcher, and teacher of A/R/Tography were developed for the program, and dance genre specific courses were also created. All new courses of the program combines theory and practice, and students are prepared for a changing and complex work life combining artistic, teaching and researching practice. This exposition is part of the peer-reviewed article: Østern, T. P., Reppen, C., O’Connell, S., & Daneberg, M. (2025). Choreographer/researcher/teacher: Developing a/r/tography as an approach to dance pedagogy at Stockholm University of the Arts in a professional learning community of teachers. Nordic Journal of Art & Research, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.7577/ar.5460

Sammendrag: Denne oppgaven utforsker hvordan estetiske intensjoner kan utvikles og formidles gjennom interaktiv liveprosessering i et moderne jazzensemble. Prosjektet NEKSUS tar utgangspunkt i fem komposisjoner som gjennom en tredelt prosess utvikles fra tradisjonelle jazzkomposisjoner til mer eksperimentelle lydlandskap. Gjennom fasene dekonstruksjon, estetisk intensjon og bandsamspill, undersøkes hvordan elektronisk prosessering kan fungere som et kreativt bindeledd mellom musikerne, og hvordan dette påvirker samspill og improvisasjon. Ved å etablere spesifikke estetiske rammeverk for hver komposisjon, legges det til rette for nye interaksjonsformer i ensemblet. Oppgaven dokumenterer denne utviklingsprosessen i detalj og reflekterer over hvordan teknologiske verktøy kan integreres som en naturlig del av det improvisatoriske uttrykket. Forskningsprosjektet viser at liveprosessering kan fungere som en neksus – et knutepunkt for musikalsk samhandling – som åpner for nye estetiske muligheter i spenningsfeltet mellom komposisjon, improvisasjon og teknologi. Samtidig belyses utfordringer knyttet til teknologisk implementering i livesammenheng, og hvordan disse kan overkommes gjennom grundig forberedelse og estetisk bevisstgjøring. Abstract: This thesis explores how aesthetic intentions can be developed and expressed through interactive live processing in a contemporary jazz ensemble. The project NEKSUS examines five compositions that, through a three-phase process, evolve from traditional jazz compositions to more experimental soundscapes. Through the phases of deconstruction, aesthetic intention, and ensemble interaction, the research investigates how electronic processing can function as a creative connection between musicians, and how this affects interplay and improvisation. By establishing specific aesthetic frameworks for each composition, new forms of interaction within the ensemble are facilitated. The thesis documents this development process in detail and reflects on how technological tools can be integrated as a natural part of the improvisational expression. The research project demonstrates that live processing can function as a nexus – a point of connection for musical interaction – that opens up new aesthetic possibilities in the intersection between composition, improvisation, and technology. Simultaneously, it highlights challenges related to technological implementation in live settings, and how these can be overcome through thorough preparation and aesthetic awareness.

NORSK: I dette kunstneriske utviklingsarbeidet undersøker jeg hvordan norsk folkemusikk kan integreres i mitt etablerte musikalske sound. Gjennom lytting, refleksjon og skapende praksis har jeg latt tradisjonsmusikkens estetikk og uttrykk påvirke mitt eget formspråk. Arbeidet har resultert i albumet "Relasjonsorkester", der jeg utforsker møtepunktene mellom tradisjon og samtid i tre utvalgte låter: "Hei, hallo", "Tankerom" og "Langsiktig sparing". Prosessen har vist at respektfull lytting, tilegning av teoretisk kunnskap og bevisste kunstneriske valg er avgjørende for å forankre nye uttrykk i en levende tradisjon. Oppgaven reflekterer over hvordan tradisjonen kan bli en del av egen kunstnerisk identitet, uten å måtte bli en tradisjonsbærer i klassisk forstand. ENGLISH: This artistic research project explores how Norwegian folk music can be integrated into my established musical sound. Through listening, reflection, and creative practice, I have allowed the aesthetics and expression of folk tradition to influence my own musical language. The project resulted in the album "Relasjonsorkester", where I explore the intersections between tradition and contemporary music through three selected songs: “Hei, hallo”, “Tankerom”, and “Langsiktig sparing”. The process demonstrates that respectful listening, acquisition of theoretical knowledge, and conscious artistic choices are essential for grounding new expressions within a living tradition. The thesis reflects on how tradition can become a part of one’s artistic identity without necessarily becoming a traditional bearer in the conventional sense.