The school was established by Ludvig Mathias Lindeman and his son Peter Brynie Lindeman in 1883 in Christiania (as Oslo was then called) and was named the Organist School (Norwegian: Organistskolen).
The school was renamed again in 1892 to the Christiania Music Conservatory, and it was the only institution of its kind in Norway until 1905.
[2] Peter's son Trygve Lindeman (1896–1979), who studied music in Stockholm, became a teacher at the school in 1921 and became its head in 1930.
The school offered a mix of professional training of musicians, and amateur education for children and adults.
Notable people that attended the Oslo Conservatory of Music include: