About us

The purpose of The Musical Instrument Academy:
To contribute to a positive development in the music industry in the Nordic region. This includes outreach and education across all branches of the musical instrument sector. The company shall not operate with the intention of providing financial gain to its owners. Any surplus shall remain within the company.

Purpose
The main objective of Musikk Instrument Akademiet AS is to bring together the musical instrument-making industry — an industry that is currently suffering from a lack of collaboration and education, and where instrument makers are at risk of disappearing. We aim to establish a strategy to map and strengthen the sector. We will create a platform for cooperation and the exchange of essential knowledge to ensure the industry’s survival, as its future is threatened by the absence of such structures today. Through this work, MIA will develop a dedicated digital platform.

Organ built by students at the Musical Instrument Academy, commissioned by Kluen Church in Østfold.

Result
To save a “dying” craft industry and art form that urgently needs renewed focus. This craft and artistic heritage has, throughout history, provided society with significant cultural value. Musicians should be able to play instruments that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals — meaning locally sourced and supported, where instruments can be purchased, repaired, restored, and tuned within their own country. This also ensures that those who wish to pursue education in this field can do so in a Nordic country.

Goals Upon Completion
The industry will be unified and dialogue established. We will be ready to build upon the knowledge gained and move forward with further initiatives. This work will have laid the foundation for an essential platform leading toward the establishment of a Nordic, industry-driven educational institution for the training of highly qualified musical instrument makers — a competence urgently needed in all the Nordic countries.

Markneukirchen - Germany

Vision 

On several occasions, the founder Arnfred Marthinsen was asked about his vision for his work as an instrument maker and for the institution. Professor Winfried Schrammek was particularly concerned with this question. One evening at the Paulus-Schlüssel in Markneukirchen, while sitting at the Stammtisch with Stephan Voigt, a vivid memory came back to Marthinsen. He recalled a moment in February 1977, walking down Bergstrasse on a clear winter evening together with violin maker Gerhardt, who was over seventy years old. They were on their way to a Christian gathering in a private home. As they walked, Marthinsen asked the violin maker why he and the other makers in the town built musical instruments. Gerhardt replied:

“Arnfred, you see all the stars — we know that God created them. But you do not know where the stars travel, or where they disappear. When we build instruments, they are sent out into the world. (Before the last world war, more than one million string instruments were sold every year to the United States alone.) We do not know where they will end up or who will receive them. But we do know this: musicians will receive an instrument to play on; conductors will receive an orchestra to lead; and composers will have an orchestra and conductor to write music for. The sum of it all is that we build instruments to the glory of God — so that musicians and orchestras may play to the glory of God.”

After Marthinsen shared this with Stephan Voigt, symphony orchestra musicians entered the restaurant where the Stammtisch was held. Marthinsen was asked to tell the story to them as well — they were also instrument makers. He explained that this was his vision for the Musical Instrument Academy. The instrument makers fully embraced the vision and expressed great joy in these words — to the glory of God.

When the T.V.D. (Technical Scientific Documentation Centre) and the Norwegian International Musical Instrument Maker Seminar were inaugurated on 9 May 1993, the foundation of the institution was established. This laid the groundwork for the Musical Instrument Academy, which included a museum, international seminars, concert activities and more. This allowed us to draw a parallel to the University of Leipzig, which combines restoration education, a museum, concerts and seminar activity, and to Markneukirchen, where instrument makers are trained alongside a musical instrument museum, concerts, seminars and festivals. At the opening, we were honoured to welcome Professor Dr. Winfried Schrammek, Director of the Musical Instrument Museum at the University of Leipzig, who delivered the following words during the opening ceremony:

 
 
 
“Everything on earth — living or dead — is perishable. This law, which has existed since time immemorial, is harsh and relentless. Yet human beings refuse to acknowledge this dreadful truth. We suppress it, or we search for explanations that might soften its reality. Consider the development of medicine — from the ancient shaman to the modern medical centre. At the core lies a constant effort to struggle against a strict law of nature, one that can never be changed, even if we occasionally achieve greater or lesser progress.”
Professor Dr. Winfried Schrammek was Head of Bach Research (Bach-Forschung) and Director of the Music Instrument Museum at the University of Leipzig. He also led the university’s programme in musical instrument restoration. He became the first professor appointed when the Musical Instrument Making School in Markneukirchen was re-established. The school — the first of its kind in the world — was originally founded in 1837, but was closed in 1960 due to political changes in East Germany. Professor Schrammek was a member of the collegium that supported the re-establishment of the school and the TVD. He visited annually to teach and perform, and played an important role in guiding the institution in the right direction.
“To preserve things that are perishable is also the goal of the repairer and restorer of historic buildings, historic musical instruments, and various museum objects. Here too, it often seems impossible to preserve or recreate the original character and function of an inherited work of art, and to guarantee lasting beauty and usefulness. Like a doctor, the restorer feels obliged to work with great dedication and to explore new paths — to a certain degree attempting to master the impossible. Is this a contradiction in itself — a doomed undertaking, a struggle without victory? Or do we here recognise the power within human beings to dare the superhuman and thereby rise above a purely material existence? The passion, determination, scientific precision, craftsmanship and cultural-historical knowledge possessed by the instrument maker, the repairer, the restorer and the tuner ensure that their work is far more than the meaningless toil of Sisyphus. The art restorer is the one who reaches for the stars. More precisely, through the creative practice of restoration, they strive — beyond superficial practicality — for perfection. These reflections explain the demands, difficulties, and at times the ruthlessness to which the restorer’s work is exposed. The International Musical Instrument Maker Seminar in Fredrikstad will consciously contribute to addressing these complex challenges. I therefore wish it the greatest success, and promise that I will do my utmost to support a good outcome.”

Dr. Winfried Schrammek

 

Council for Professional Standards

The Professional Council reports to the Board on all academic and professional matters within the organisation. It serves as the final authority for professional approval before any decision can be adopted by the Board. Its role is to pre-approve projects, reports, curricula, seminars, and new educational initiatives within a Nordic and German framework of cooperation. Over the past four years, the Council has contributed to project planning, implementation, and reporting for initiatives co-funded by Viken County Council, Østfold County Council, Fredrikstad Municipality, Bengtsfors Municipality in Västergötland, the Nordic Culture Fund, and Erasmus+. Established in 1995, the Council has been involved in the development of several EU-funded cultural projects — including the reconstruction of the Bronze Lur — as well as 22 international seminars, NORAD projects in Africa, Nordic Culture Fund activities, and numerous other projects and seminars within the music sector.

The Professional Council currently consists of:
Stephan Vogt – Owner of Helmut Vogt Brass Instrument Workshop, established in 1699. He serves as Deputy Guild Master of the Musical Instrument Guild in Vogtland, founded in 1687. He is a board member of the Vogtland Chamber of Crafts, musical instrument section, and also chairs the examination boards for journeyman and master craftsman qualifications in musical instrument making. He is a specialist in trombone production and supplies instruments to musicians and orchestras worldwide. In addition, he is an active trombonist, performing in symphony orchestras and various ensembles.

Tom Dahlstrøm – Violin maker. In 1984, he became the first person in Norway to receive an official apprenticeship contract in violin making, through a project initiated by the Ministry of Church and Education. He continued his education in Markneukirchen in the former GDR, and has worked as a professional violin maker since 1989. He has contributed extensively to education within the musical instrument-making industry, particularly in the field of string instrument construction. For more than 20 years, he has been part of the examination team responsible for journeyman testing for Nordic candidates in Markneukirchen, in the Klingenthal district. He currently works as a violin maker and holds a position at Musical Instrument Academy AS. He has also played French horn in various ensembles and bands.

Oscar Björklund – Trained guitar maker with a German journeyman certificate. He has played the violin throughout his life within the Swedish folk music community. He completed advanced training in Markneukirchen under guitar maker Schneider, and later in New York, USA, where he specialised in vintage instruments. He now runs Oscar Björklund in Stockholm, employing four guitar makers, and operates what is considered Sweden’s — and possibly the Nordic region’s — largest vintage-focused guitar shop. He serves on industry boards in Sweden, including representation within the music sector and at a guitar-making school in Stockholm. He is also a guitarist, composer, and lifelong band musician.

Roger Nilssen is educated as a teacher and ICT specialist. He has worked with audio engineering since 1985 and has trained future sound technicians over many years. Since 2002, he has worked with ICT and digital systems in educational contexts, as well as producing printed materials and developing websites. In recent years, he has contributed to major Nordic and European projects within the music sector. He has also performed on saxophone and clarinet in concert bands.

Øyvin Fjeld – Partly educated as an engineer in electronics. Since the 1970s he has worked with the construction and repair of musical instruments, particularly guitars, basses and electronic instruments. He is also a guitar maker and has developed several new types of electronic musical instruments and guitars. He grew up in a family of professional musicians and has worked as a musician, composer, audio engineer, and performer in numerous Norwegian bands. Internationally recognised for his expertise and longstanding position in the music industry, he has taught guitar construction and repair since 1996. He is one of the few remaining in the industry with deep competence in both the analogue and digital sides of musical instrument technology.

Arnfred Marthinsen – Educated as a musical instrument maker in Norway, Germany, and the United States. He has operated his own workshop since 1984, and has trained numerous apprentices while holding academic responsibility for education in the Nordic region and cooperation with professional environments in Germany. Since 1994, he has overseen the development and implementation of training programmes enabling Nordic instrument makers to earn their German journeyman certificates. He has also organised and led participation in major international music trade fairs — including Musikmesse Frankfurt, Germany, and NAMM Show in Los Angeles, USA — designing stands and coordinating representation since 1997. He is a guitarist and composer, and has released and contributed to several recordings. He continues to run his own workshop and has been active in the establishment and development of a musical instrument museum.   

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