In September, we launched a report through the Nordic network STATUS, addressing the many opportunities and challenges facing art music in Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, and Norway. Throughout September and October, we presented the report at two key events: Nordic Music Days in Iceland and Music x Media in Finland.
The well-known Finnish music fair, Music x Media, took place in Tampere from September 28 to October 1. Music x Media draws a large and dedicated Finnish and international audience, with numerous concerts and events taking place throughout the fair. The program featured a wealth of presentations addressing contemporary music topics, such as “Festivals for Sustainable Touring – Activism, Greenwashing, or the New Normal?”, “Authors and Composers in the European Music Streaming Market,” and “The Future of Music Radio.”
STATUS, our Nordic collaboration with Iceland Music Information Centre, Unga Tankar om Musik, Music Finland, and Music Norway, was present at the fair to present our report on the state of art music across the Nordic region.
On behalf of the group, Merja Hottinen from Music Finland and Catherine Lefebvre from Art Music Denmark delivered the presentation. This was followed by a panel discussion featuring Merja Hottinen, Catherine Lefebvre, Lasse Lehtonen (researcher at the University of Helsinki and editor-in-chief of FMQ), composer Lauri Supponen, and violinist and producer Anna Angervo from Tampere Raw Ensemble.
On October 11, Art Music Denmark’s project manager, Laura Dalgaard Christoffersen, traveled to Reykjavik, Iceland, to participate in Nordic Music Days, which ran until October 15.
With the theme of IMPACT, this year’s festival focused on music and art within social, political, and ecological contexts, offering a wide range of exciting concerts, workshops, and debates.
As part of the festival’s program, the Nordic Composers Council, in collaboration with NOMEX, organized the mini-conference “Music Export Event,” a focused program for composers about international careers, networking, and development. Art Music Denmark was invited to present the STATUS report, followed by a Q&A session with Signý Leifsdóttir from the Icelandic Music Information Centre.
It was a pleasure to experience the positive reception of the report and to hear various reflections and ideas for the future work of STATUS in both Reykjavik and Tampere.
The report can be read at nordicstatus.org.