BackgroundThe curriculum for the courses given at the music specialization of theupper secondary school’s aesthetic program in Sweden includes theconcept of artistic expression (AE). Being a criterion for assessment, nodefinition is provided by the National Agency of Education and thereexists no consensus of how to interpret artistic expression amongmusic teachers and music teacher students.MethodsIn order to explore how teachers understand, teach, and assess theconcept and phenomenon of artistic expression, twelve qualitativeinterviews with music teachers were conducted and analyzed throughan open coding process.ResultsThe findings show that the concept of artistic expression ismultifaceted and evasive. The results focus on two analytic threads: (i)situatedness and (ii) entanglement. (i) AE is situated due to context-specific parameters which underpins the meaning of the concept inthis particular educational setting. (ii) Furthermore, the phenomenonof artistic expression is entangled (a) with the ongoing relationshipbetween teacher and student, and (b) in a temporally unfolding and interactive musical event. The phenomenon of artistic expression asentangled is discussed, primarily through Hartmut Rosa’s concept ofresonance, which brings into focus the intersubjective character ofaesthetic experience. Doing so questions understandings of – andassessment procedures surrounding – artistic expression that relieson skill-based interpretations or reductions of entanglement. Oneexample of such reduction is assessment of recordings of studentperformances which limits (a) the relational perspective (if assessed bya third person) or (b) the entanglement with the musical event. Theperspective of resonance brings forth the teacher’s role during astudent performance as characterized by self-efficacy and activelistening, thus co-constitutive of artistic expression.ConclusionsThe article concludes with reflections on how the findings maycontribute to the continuous discussion on how scientific groundingand proven experience may inform both the music education at uppersecondary school and music teacher education. The concept ofresonance provides a possibility to reframe conceptions of artisticcompetence in art education as being grounded in intersubjective andrelational terms, rather than being reified as a set of measurableskills, an understanding which in turn risks replacing learning withcriteria compliance.