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projects & collaborations

Sound festival: 22 - 27 October

In partnership with Nordic Music Days soundfestival will present an installation by Norwegian artists John-Andrew Wilhite and Anastasia Savinova, Dialects of the Deep, which is a fascinating exploration of different fish dialects – in this case cod – and impact that mass fishing has had on the human - fish relationship. 

Dialects of the Deep 
John-Andrew Wilhite (sound artist) & Anastasia Savinova (visual artist) 
Thursday 24 – Sunday 27 October. 10.00 – 17.00 
The Academy Shopping Centre, Schoolhill entrance, Aberdeen 

Installation supported by Arts and Culture Norway.

Northern Connection 

soundfestival ware the Scottish partner for the Northern Connection project, which sees three festivals, three composers and three ensembles from Scotland, Norway and Finland combining for new commissions. Red Note Ensemble (Scotland), defunensemble (Finland) and Ensemble Temporum (Norway) perform works by Tine Surel Lange (Norway), Lisa Robertson (Scotland) and Lauri Supponen (Finland).

Sounds Finnish!   
defunensemble 
Saturday 26 October 15.00 – 16.00 
Cowdray Hall, Aberdeen 

Northern Connection 
Red Note Ensemble, defunensemble & Ensemble Temporum 
Saturday 26 October 18.00 – 19.00 
The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen 

Train Route Collection 
Ensemble Temporum 
Sunday 27 October  13.00 – 13.45 
The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen  

Full details of the festival’s programme can be found at  sound-scotland.co.uk. 

Photo exhibition - Forever Changes: 29 October – 3 November 

In 2021, Street Level Photoworks commissioned Forever Changes, an exhibition of work from a range of Nordic artists whose work aligns or intersects with themes of climate change, protection of the environment, and the conflict between humans and the natural world.

The exhibition was a call to action to address the urgent need to influence change, not only for the preservation of the planet, but also for a better world. 

The original exhibition was supported by the Nordic Embassies with representation in the UK - Denmark, Finland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway and Sweden - and coincided with the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 which took place in November 2021, marking 3 years since the event. 

A small selections of work by Helene Schmitz (Sweden) and Klaus Thymann (Denmark) will be on show in University of Glasgow Chapel between the 30th October and 1st November only. Work by Schmitz and Thymann also features in an exhibition at Hillhead Library, which runs from the 29th October throughout November, and also includes work by Lasse Lecklin (Finland) and Christian Houge (Norway). 

University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel (Wednesday – Friday 10.00 – 17.00)

Hillhead Library (Tuesday – Thursday 10.00 – 20.00, Friday & Saturday 10.00 – 17.00, Sunday 12.00 – 17.00).  

Find out more about the exhibition: streetlevelphotoworks.org/event/forever-changes-2021  

The Exhibition is supported by: Finnish Institute, Embassy of Finland, Norwegian Embassy, Embassy of Iceland, Embassy of Denmark,  Representation of the Faroes Islands in London, Embassy of Sweden 

UNM x NMD Composer Exchange: 30 October – 3 November

Curiosity, exchange and collaboration are central to the ethos of the festival, and to a new exchange between the Ung Nordisk Musik (Young Nordic Music) festival and Nordic Music Days.

In August four Scottish composers visited the UNM Festival in Örebro, Sweden, where they spent time with four UNM composers. In pairs, the composers then worked together to create short works to be performed in Nordic Music Days.

Wednesday 30 October  15.30, CCA Theatre

defunensemble

Lisa Robertson (Scotland) and Ása Önnu Ólafsdóttir (Iceland): new work

Saturday 2nd November  17.00, CCA Theatre

Marie Schreer (violin) and Scott Dickinson (viola)

Aileen Sweeney (Scotland) and Heli Hartikainen (Finland): new work for violin, viola, and electronics

Saga Fägerstrom (Sweden) and Finn O’Hare (Scotland): new work for violin, viola, and electronics

To be confirmed

David Ford (Scotland) and Connor McLean (Denmark): new work 

This project was possible thanks to support from: Scottish Government Nordic Office, The Danish Ministry for Culture, The Danish Ministry for Foreign Affairs , KODA’s Cultural Funds.

Find out more about the UNM Festival: unm.se

Sustainable Composition and Creative Sound Practices

hcmf//, Nordic Music Days and Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival are collaborating to offer three artists from the Nordic region and the UK the opportunity to take part in a year-long programme focused on sustainable composition and creative sound practices.

The programme encourages composers and sound artists to integrate sustainability into their creative processes. Through workshops at Nordic Music Days 2024, Ultima 2025 and a digital residency they will explore the possibilities of creative work with sustainability as its starting point and work towards an artistic output to be presented in Huddersfield as part of hcmf// 2025.

Sustainable Composition and Creative Sound Practices is a partnership between hcmf, Ultima and Nordic Music Days, supported by Julie’s Bicycle, Arts Council England, Arts Council Norway and the Danish Arts Foundation through the International Touring and Environmental Responsibility fund.

New Words, New Instruments, New Duos

Song has played a central role in the development of music and language. With the continuing evolution of technology, song tradition has an opportunity to evolve in new and exciting ways.

To celebrate this history and potential future, Drake Music Scotland and the Disabled Artist Network have commissioned seven composers from Scotland and the Nordics to compose new works for voice and digital instruments. This collaboration between nations, and between disabled and non-disabled artists, is a fascinating chance to see how composers from across Northern Europe approach such a unique musical opportunity.

Experience the resulting works on Thursday 31 October, 13.10 at the University of Glasgow Concert Hall

 

Stefan Sand Groves (Denmark): SÓL, STATTU KYR

Sigrid Anita Haugen (Norway): Eikhogjen

Clare Johnson (Scotland): New Work

Sonia Allori (Scotland): Robots and Dinosaurs

Stuart MacRae (Scotland): Placenames of Skye

Nino Håkannson (Sweden): There is a bordstennisbord within the hobby room of my apartment complex (!)

Ewan MacKay (Scotland): Flow Gently

 

Performers:

Colin Levin   (baritone)

Rhona Smith (digital harp)

Clare Johnson (ipad)

Karen Sutherland (digital instruments)

 

Free, unticketed

 

Qullaq

Qullaq is a groundbreaking collaboration between musicians from Scotland and Greenland.

Easter 2024 saw Aidan O’Rourke travelling to Sisimiut in Western Greenland where he met with actors/musicians/polymaths Hans-Hernik Suersaq Poulsen, Miké Fencer Thomsen and Arnannguaq Gerstrøm. In late summer they gathered again at the cutting-edge Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium in Denmark, now bringing in actor/musician Nive Nielsen. The result of their time together is a proud, challenging and playful sharing of ancient cultures and the new: an inquiry into what it means to be a tradition-bearer in today’s world.

Ancient and contemporary Greenlandic drum dances typically involve a lot of descending vocal and physical gestures. Qullaq means ‘ascending’: the resulting work is a confrontational but jubilant exploration of a long-persecuted culture which is now in the ascendence. Drawing on myths, social dynamics and post-colonial politics, the piece brings together contemporary Inuit performance practices from Kalaallit nunaat (Greenland) with Aidan O’Rourke’s unique take on Scottish traditional music and the strings of the Scottish Ensemble. 

 

Wednesday 30 October 20.00

The Old Fruitmarket, City Halls

1 hour 30 mins

Aidan O’Rourke (Scotland), Nive Nielsen, Hans-Henrik Suersaq Poulsen, and Miké Fencer Thomsen (Greenland): Qullaq      25’     first performance

Directional and dramaturgical consultation from Valerio Peroni, Alice Occhiali and Francesca Tesoniero at Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium

Supported by: The Danish Composers Society, Nordic Theatre Laboratory, the Danish Arts Foundation and the Augustinus Foundation