Féile Oslo 2023 is the second annual summer school of Irish music and dance in Oslo. We will make this a place to learn and evolve as musicians and dancers, but also a place to meet as a community and interact with likeminded people. In short, we want this to be fun! In 2023, we’ll offer tuition in 8 different instruments, singing in Irish, sean nós dance, and modern step dancing. There will also be a ceili, a ceili crash-course, and a concert. We are also introducing free lessons for children in fiddle, bodhrán and sean nós dance. Oh, and ‘Féile’ is Irish and means festival 😉

Our prices for 2024 are: Tuition whole weekend 16.08.–18.08. 1 class for 3 days NOK 1 950 2 classes for 3 days NOK 3 120 3 classes for 3 days NOK 4 095 4 classes for 3 days NOK 5 070 Tuition Saturday and Sunday 17.08. – 18.08. 1 class for 2 days NOK 1 320 2 classes for 2 days NOK 2 112 3 classes for 2 days NOK 2 772 4 classes for 2 days NOK 3 432 Day pass 1 class for 1 day NOK 760 2 classes for 1 days NOK 1 216 3 classes for 1 days NOK 1 596 4 classes for 1 days NOK 1 976 Opening night concert Thursday 15.08. 19.00 Ordinary NOK 250 Student/ child NOK 170 Participant NOK 100* Ceili introduction and ceili Friday 16.08. 18.00 Ordinary NOK 200 Student/ child NOK 100 Participant NOK 0** Only ceili night Friday 16.08. 19.00 Ordinary NOK 150 Student/ child NOK 50 Participant NOK 0** Concert Saturday 17.08. 19.00 Ordinary NOK 250 Student/ child NOK 170 Participant NOK 0** * Participants get a discount to the opening night concert. Make sure to choose the category "Deltager" when buying your ticket. ** The session lesson, ceili introduction, ceili night, and teachers' concert are all included in the tuition fee of the summer school, but you will need to retrieve the tickets yourself if you want to attend. Tickets are subject to availability.

You sign up to the summer school by buying a ticket to a class. We expect to open the registration mid-March, and you will find a link to the ticket system when it is ready. You can choose between the full weekend (three days of tuition), only Saturday and Sunday (two days of tuition), or individual day passes. Exceptions are the Irish dance show class, grúpa ceoil, and choir. These classes are preparing for a recital on Sunday, and are not open to day passes. We kindly ask you to get in touch with us if you want to join these claasses only Saturday and Sunday. You can buy tickets for up to 4 classes per day. There are parallel sessions, and it’s your own responsibility to check that the classes you want to attend don’t overlap. When you buy your ticket, you accept that Féile Oslo will receive your name and contact information. We will only use this to send you relevant and important information about the summer school.

The summer school does not accept complete beginners. You need to be able to play your instrument. However, you don’t necessarily need to play it at a very high level. We expect the level in the classes to be quite varied, and the teachers will adapt to the people who are there. At the end of the day, it depends on what you are comfortable with: Some people don’t mind being out of their depths. They’ll be happy to struggle and to make mistakes, and at the end of the lesson, they’ll feel they have learnt loads – even if they still can’t play that tune properly. Others are more perfectionistic and can get self-conscious if they feel that they are holding back the others. This is only a problem if it stops you enjoying the summer school. If you are unsure of your level and if you can join, then please contact us on feile.oslo.summer.school@gmail.com, and we’ll find out of it. There are a few exeptions to the rule: the harp lesson is open to beginners. Please contact us if you have a higher level and want to join the harp lessons. And you don't have to be a singer (or an Irish speaker) to join the song lesson - though it's best if you're able to hold a note. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. The most important thing is that you enjoy the experience!

Fiddle with Gerry O'Connor Flute and uilleann pipes with Oisín McCann Singing in Irish with Aoife Ní Fhearraigh Bodhrán with Fergal O'Brien Sean nós dance with Ranóg Townsend Step dance with Breandán de Gallaí Harp with Marie Nivel Guitar with Gerard Thompson Whistle with with Brendan Monaghan Grúpa ceoil with Brendan Monaghan (NEW of 2024!) Choir with Cecilie Stensrud (NEW of 2024!)

Grúpa ceoil (Irish for music group), is a class where you will play together as a band and work on arrangements of tunes that will be performed at the closing of the Féile on Sunday. The class is open to all instruments. In the choir class, we will prepare a group performance of one or two songs for the closing of the Féile. Open to anyone who likes to sing, and can hold a note.

‘Sean nós’ means ‘old style’. And that is exactly what sean nós dancing is: old style Irish percussive dancing. It’s more laid back than modern Irish step dancing, and not quite as tiring – suitable for all ages and bodies. In sean nós dancing, the dancer aims to ‘dance the tune’, as if you’re playing the melody with your feet. Rhythm and musicality are key.

A ceili is a social night of dance and music. There is usually a ceili caller, who will choose the dances and prompt the dancers as they are dancing. That way, everybody can join – even if you don’t know the dance. Féile Oslo’s ceili will take place on Friday 12 April from 8 to 10PM. We will continue the party at the Dubliner after this. If you want a crash course in ceili dancing before that, you can sign up for the ceili introduction at 7 PM.

When you sign up for the summer school, you pay a price per instrument/class. Included in this price is the ceili introduction, the ceili night and the teachers' concert on Saturday. Woohoo! HOWEVER – and this is important – if you want to go to any of these lessons/night/concert, you need to get your ticket from the ticket system. You do this by choosing the category called ‘Deltager’ (participant). Then you follow the same steps as if you were buying a normal ticket. This ticket is free and is only valid together with the wrist band you will receive on the first day of the summer school. The Opening night concert on Thursday is NOT included, but participants will get a discount.

Most of our activities will take place at Popsenteret and Øvingshotellet in Schouskvartalet, Trondheimsveien 2. The lessons will be held on Popsenteret's 4th floor and in Kaféscenen, and in Øvingshotellet's Preprod room and Ensemblerom XL. In the evenings of Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we’ll have sessions at The Dubliner Pub in Rådhusgata 28. The teachers' concert on Saturday will take place in Kaféscenen in Popsenteret. The venue of the opening night concert is still to be confirmed.

The sessions on Thursday to Saturday are open to everybody. They will be led by the teachers of the summer school. Minors can join when accompanied by their parents, but they have to leave the premises before 22.00.

It is up to the individual teachers to give private lessons or not. Please feel free to contact us on feile.oslo.summer.school@gmail.com if you’re interested, and we can see what we can sort out. For private lessons with Aoife ní Fhearraig, you will need to inform her of the song you want to work with in advance.

Because of the way our ticket system calculates the discount (if you sign up for more than one class), you cannot buy more than one ticket to each class at a time. If you want to register more than one person, you will need to do so in seperate transactions.