Whilst Norwegian primary school teachers are no longer required to have arts subjects in their education portfolio, schools are encouraged to host projects involving municipal art institutions and professional artists with a view to enriching pupils' contact with the arts. "The Cultural Rucksack", a national arts programme for primary and secondary schools, offers a wide range of concerts and workshops, but has been criticized for the short-term nature of many of these cultural encounters. In the light of this, "Bendik and Aarolilja", a composing project that ran from August 2007 to April 2008 for Year 6 pupils in a Norwegian primary school, is discussed. (Contains 4 figures, 1 table, and 8 notes.)