Discovery through Music
Photo: Starship Infinity
Eddie Bond is a multi-instrumentalist composer, performer, and author. Originally from Seattle, Washington, Eddie found his way to Trondheim by chance. He shares how music has led him through the world and how it has uncovered the hidden depths of the city.
What the fuck have I got myself into?
- Eddie Bond
From Seattle to Trondheim and all points in between
I thought as I disembarked from the KLM flight at Værnes Airport. After spending six weeks living steps from the beach in Baja, Mexico in June 2021 and some months before hiding out and driving aimlessly around the western US during the chaos that was the covid lockdown there, I had packed my bags, sold nearly every important piece of musical equipment I had, and flown for nearly 40 hours across the world to Trondheim to begin studies in the European Jazz Master program at NTNU Jazzlinja. And I literally found myself in a place called Hell.
I had no idea what to expect. Six months earlier, I had never heard of Trondheim and considered it a long shot to be accepted into this program, which is an exchange-based collaboration between NTNU and music conservatories in Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, and Copenhagen that accepts only a couple of students per year. When I met on Zoom in early February that year with the music faculty at NTNU, I was blown away by how excited and welcoming everyone seemed, and that trend has only continued during my experience here.
Photo: Starship Infinity
And I literally found myself in a place called Hell.
- Eddie J. Bond
As it turns out, Trondheim has a great music scene and is a wonderful place to live. The jazz department at NTNU was one of the first jazz departments in Europe and has since produced some amazing musicians and contributed extensively to the success of the music scene in Norway. Learning about the history of music and the musicians in Norway has been an eye- and ear-opening experience, allowing me to explore a world I had no clue existed. The opportunities afforded to musicians here to pursue their work are truly amazing, especially compared to other places I have lived around the world.
The first semester I spent here was extremely dynamic, fresh, and exciting. I finished my bachelor’s degree in 2013 and had been working professionally since then, so re-engaging in some sort of academic setting in a new country with a ton of great players was tremendously inspiring. Catching some of my new favorite Norwegian musicians at Dokkhuset was incredible, attending the concert series PØKK, Friform, Fri Resonans, and Konsert Galleriet, and seeing all the support that exists here for improvised music was astounding. Hanging around Lokal, Moskus, and Trykkeriet gave me a feel for what the music scene in Trondheim can offer. Of course, hanging out and jamming with new friends at Antikvariatet and playing and meeting all sorts of musicians at Lørdag på Søndag was a phenomenal experience and introduced me to new people from all over the world, including my fiancée.
During the second and third semesters of my program, I studied at the Jazz Institute Berlin and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. I traveled extensively around Europe during the summer months between semesters, swam in the fjord on the summer solstice, touched the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, and found the graves of my Norwegian great-great grandparents in Kongsvinger. All told, I traveled to 12 countries before returning to Trondheim in January for my last semester.
Photo: Heather Hansen
The time in Amsterdam was particularly interesting. The housing situation is quite tense there for a number of reasons. Heavy tourist traffic, private ownership of centrally-located properties for Airbnbs and hotels, combined with some tough laws around group living situations, made it virtually impossible for me to find a place to live, especially considering I would only be there for a couple of months. As such, I pared down my already sparse belongings and spent three months bouncing around between hostels, living out of my backpack, and borrowing a guitar from the conservatory. It was a real “character-building” experience if there ever was one, but it also provided me the opportunity to deeply explore the city in ways I probably would not have if I had a proper and safe place to stay.
Since returning in the winter, I have been lucky to experience the Trondheim Jazzfest for the first time, as well as attend the Only Connect Festival for experimental and new music and a handful of other amazing concerts around Trondheim. I am looking forward to diving deeper into the music scene around Trondheim, Norway, and Scandinavia in general, to exploring more festivals like Pstereo, Olavsfest, Trondheim Calling, and NEON, and finally setting up a home and developing my music projects here in this beautiful, amazing, and inspiring city. See you at a gig!
The opportunities afforded to musicians here to pursue their work are truly amazing, especially compared to other places I have lived around the world.
- Eddie Bond
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