Håkon (14) was “headhunted” for a summer job – now he plays table music in a hotel – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio

– I was visiting with the school and sat down to improvise on the piano. Then the hotel director said: – Huh?! You can get a job here! Håkon Briseid Rødland grew up with a piano in the living room and has been playing since he was three years old. He also plays bass, drums and guitar. But the piano is the clear winner in Håkon’s eyes. – Music is the great passion. I feel it is my life’s mission to express feelings for others and myself through music. After a class visit to the Strand hotel, he secured his dream job this summer. Here he sat down with the piano and played without notes or a plan. It turned out to pay off, because the hotel director gave him a summer job on the spot. – I was sold straight away. He saw the piano and the rest is really history, says Bodil Langerak who is hotel director at Strand hotell. He plays table music at the hotel four times a week this summer. Nice on the CV Håkon thinks it is a great motivation with regard to his later career that he has played table music at the hotel. He wants to follow in his musician father’s footsteps and educate himself in jazz. – I can’t imagine anything other than a music career, music is everything to me. Hotel director Bodil Langerøk says that she had not imagined having a fourteen-year-old boy as a pianist. – The coincidences meant that we gave him the opportunity. He plays better than many older pianists. The guests are surprised and appreciate him and the music. Hotel director Bodil Langerøk did not imagine that a fourteen-year-old boy would be sitting at the piano in the hotel, but when she heard Håkon play, she was sold. Photo: Vetle Hjortland / news Talents must and must be taken care of Professor of rhythmic music at the University of Agder (UIA) Bjørn Ole Rasch is impressed by Håkon’s talent. He believes that such talents should and must be taken care of. – This is a rare talent with a good ear and musicality, he says. Rasch explains that in this genre the musician is dependent on a good ear and knowledge of improvisation. You are often self-taught and therefore more free to play without the necessary knowledge of notation. – You have to know several of the most famous songs and at the same time improvise and put the music together into a larger whole that suits the occasion. Bjørn Ole Rasch is professor of rhythmic music at UIA. He says Håkon is warmly welcome to the Department of Performing Music, Rhythmic Line at UiA for auditions in the future. Photo: University of Agder Hotel guest Ragnar Bølstad hopes that the hotel will continue with music during dinner in the future. He and his traveling companion find it a pleasant experience. – For my part, the table music suits to the highest degree. Everyone we are here with is equally impressed. It is absolutely successful, he says. Ragnar Bølstad hopes that the hotel continues with table music, and is very impressed by Håkon’s musical skills. Photo: Vetle Hjortland / No



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