As an 11-year old, I was given free access to the parish churches of
Klepp and Bore, close to my home in Norway. Both churches had and
still have excellent two-manual trackers (by Jensen & Thomsen and
Grönlund, respectively). My mother had been the parish organist in
Klepp for nine years, and even though she'd just moved on to another
job, that surely "oiled" the parish officials, and getting access was
a breeze.

Being mostly self-thaught, having little piano background, not being
able to play for a church service, and knowing no such thing as good
practice habits, I might not have passed an "evaluation" as has been
described by some list members.

However, with free access to the local pipe organs things improved
rather rapidly; I played my first complete church service at the age
of 12, and have since played for more than a dozen churches in the
region, including Stavanger Cathedral. I *think* the money spent on
electricity and maintenance as a result of my practice has been paid
back by the work I've done for the Norwegian Church. Mind you, my fee
is half that of a grown-up!

Just my couple of groszy's worth.

Cheers from Cracow,
Jarle Fagerheim

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