Get to know our new chair

Kyrre Matias Goksøyr is the new chair of the Norwegian Jew’s Harp Forum.

Did you know that Kyrre Matias Goksøyr rediscovered the Jew’s harp through his father and that he’s also a keen singer?

By Veronika Søum
Translated by Lucy Moffatt

Kyrre Matias Goksøyr (43) was elected as the new chair of the Norwegian Jew’s Harp Forum (NMF) at the annual general meeting in March. He is the third chair since the forum was founded in 1998 and takes over from Bent Åserud.

But who is he really – and what are his thoughts on the future of the NMF?
Read on to find out more about Kyrre Matias:

Age: 43
Home: Oslo
Profession: Head of section in the division for education at OsloMet University

How does it feel to be the chair of the Norwegian Jew’s Harp Forum?
“It feels a bit surprising. I’d actually adjusted nicely to being on the board, picking up a few practical
tasks here and there, so I’ll keep on doing that. The board has good energy, which bodes well for the
times ahead. In December, I helped out a bit with getting Munnharpa online, and it’s great to see
that Veronika, Ånon and Lucy have got off to a great start with plenty of good articles. We’re also
looking to get up to speed with work on the book and CD this year.”

How did you get interested in the Jew’s harp?
“I really hadn’t given the instrument much thought for years until 2018 when got caught up in my
dad’s growing interest and got a Jew’s harp for Christmas. I didn’t manage to get to the festival
before 2021. It wasn’t all plain sailing to start off with, but things improved, stroke by stroke, and
with a bit of luck, I was able to collect a lot of good harps. When that got me listening to more folk
music – Naaljos Ljom and Ævestaden – I discovered that the harmonic series must have made a bit of
an impression on me as a child, although I probably associated it mostly with the overtone flute.”

Do you play any other instruments?
“Since my teens, I’ve probably spent most of my time playing guitar, but later I got more into synth-based music. Then I picked up the mouth organ and got really fascinated by blues, especially Sonny
Boy Williamson II. In around 2013, I drew up a plan to become a competent mouth organ player by
the time I turned fifty. It’s looking doable. Over the past five years, I’ve spent more time building my
confidence as a vocalist, and lately I’ve really enjoyed learning to play the drums. I won’t get
especially good by going about things this way, but that’s not really the point.”

What was your first encounter with NMF like?
“It was at the 2021 Jew’s harp festival in Gjøvik, where I found out I hadn’t grasped very much at all.
There were only two of us on the beginners course and we were really well looked after by Oddvin
and Bernhard. Luckily for me, we were able to split the group in two, so a lot of the time, I got to
learn from Bernard in peace and quiet. On a good day, I can still hear Oddvin saying “Don’t poke,
strike!” So it was a memorable first encounter. Bernhard won’t let me enrol on his beginners courses
anymore, so it turned out to be instructive too.”

What do you think of the Norwegian Jew’s harp community?
“I’ve met plenty of great people, but I don’t know if I’m well enough acquainted with the community
yet to have that many views on it. What does strike me is that there seem to be people around the
country who are interested in the Jew’s harp that the forum isn’t managing to reach. And when we
have events in Oslo, a lot of young people turn up. I think we can deduce a few things from those two
facts.”

What do you like playing?
“I like playing the fifteen or so tunes I’ve learned at the festivals, and the digital festival in 2020. Plus I
have a couple I’ve picked up from the Fille-Vern double album. Among the tunes I’ve learned at the
festival, I’d highlight Hallingsull, Fiskaren and Springdans frå Bergen, and it was nice to pick up
Rotneims-Knut from the album recently. I’m keenest on tunes with floating, asymmetrical rhythms –
the ones that create ambiguity about the actual placement of the bar lines are fun and my ambition
is to get to grips with those.”

What are you looking forward to most about your role as chair?
“I’m looking forward to getting involved in the work of running events in Gjøvik, Molde and Oslo, and
on the book and CD. It’ll probably be fun to write the annual report for 2025 because when the time
comes to write it, I reckon we’ll have good reason to feel proud of everything we’ve achieved this year.”

What do you think you can achieve in your role as chair?
“One thing I’d really like to do is to organise more courses in more places in Norway. I think that if we
worked with local initiatives, we could manage to run courses with relatively little effort but with big
results.”

Any requests for NMF’s members?
“Step up when the board asks for help organising events! If the forum’s activity is restricted by the
fact that the board members have to do everything, we’ll achieve much less than if more people
offer to help out with festivals or organising a course where they live. We can cover travel and
accommodation costs, and we can also handle registration for local activities. Just get in touch!”