Julie Hasfjord
What is your artistic training and background?
I studied classical singing first in Stavanger, Norway where I completed my bachelor’s degree, and then at the Royal Conservatoire in the Hague where I finished my master’s degree in 2020. However, I’ve always enjoyed singing and playing in various musical genres and actually first started playing the trombone and then randomly ended singing with my wind-band as a child.
What is you most memorable artistic experience?
It’s hard to choose, but honestly our BLOOM performances in June really stands out to me. To create a performance about togetherness and performing it live for an audience after all that time of social distancing, was special. I felt very much connected to everyone in the room, both my fellow performers and the people in the audience, and from the comments we received from people both in the online as well as the live audience, it seemed like we indeed had managed to create an experience of connecting.
Immix Vocal Ensemble sprung out from NKK NXT, a traineeship organized by the Nederlands Kamerkoor where young singers explore what choir singing is about by creating and producing their own performance. Why did you want to be a part of this program?
I studied in conservatories for 8 years, and towards the end I could not wait to be done with it. In my experience, the focus within educational institutions was primarily on beautiful singing and musical works, while creating meaningful experiences and connecting to why we want to create and practice art seemed to me to be more in the background of this. From reading about the traineeship and even going through the process of applying for it, I felt challenged to think about precisely why I wanted to work with art. It also seemed like a great opportunity to learn skills I wanted to gain, like producing, thinking visually and dramaturgically, how to shape an idea into a concrete artwork, and how to do that in a group of 9 people where so many ideas, opinions and methods have to work together – and fast. I was also intrigued by the fact that they seemed to be looking for people who enjoyed singing in multiple genres and that they wanted people from different artistic background, which made the traineeship seem like an ideal opportunity to learn and gain new skills.
What is your superpower in Immix Vocal Ensemble?
I am in a group with amazing hard-working colleagues who always want to produce something with great quality, but in art this is usually a process which requires time. I think my superpower might be that I trust in the group and this process, and know that we will achieve our goal, even if it doesn’t happen immediately. I also make sure we take breaks, which the others tend to forget, and make sure we are still alive when we finish the day. 😊