Dating from 1888, Nordic Music Days is one of the oldest, most continuous and well-established festivals in Europe for presenting new art music and sound art and has been an initiative of the Council of Nordic Composers (NKR) since 1947.
The Council comprises the chair of each of the composer societies in Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Together, their mission is to advocate for fair standards, strong copyright, sustainable artistic development and cultural value within contemporary composed music and sound art practices.
Nordic Music Days is an international platform promoting new music, connection and cultural exchange through a sustainable festival for new music and sound. The festival is unique in that it is curated by the composers of the Nordic region and is a nomad festival, travelling from one host country to another for each edition, while adapting to changes over time, to reflect artistic, cultural and social transformations.
Historically each of the member associations of the NKR has taken it in turn to host and programme the festival. An archive of the festival locations and featured works is kept on the Council of Nordic Composers website under Nordic Music Days.
From 2024 the Festival embarked on a new strategy with an ambition to build long-lasting, sustainable partnerships across the greater Nordic region, the Baltics and Scotland. The 2024 Festival took place in Glasgow, managed on behalf of NKR by the Danish Composers Society in partnership with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
The 2027 edition continues to build on the 2024 collaboration between Scotland and the Nordics, working with Art Music Scotland and joining forces with Baltic Music Days 2027 for a day of programming in Tallinn.
The Festival is built around collaboration and exchange and we are grateful to many partners for their support including:
Art Music Scotland, Art Music Denmark, Baltic Contemporary Music Network, Baltic Music Days, Drake Music Scotland, Faroe Music Export, Iceland Music, Music Finland, Music Norway, ShareMusic and Performing Arts, Sami Composers Council, STATUS, Suialaa Arts Festival, Ung Nordisk Musik.
For the 2027 Festival and associated projects, we give thanks to the following for their support:
- NEXUS Network supported by the Nordic Council with funds from Nordic Culture Point.
- New Music Exchange supported by Erasmus+ and the Nordic Council with funds from Nordic Culture Point.
- NMD 2027 supported by TAIKE.
Previous editions have been supported by:
Arts Council England, Arts and Culture Norway, Augustinus Foundation, Cockaigne Fund, Creative Europe, Creative Scotland, Danish Arts Foundation, Danish Ministry of Culture, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Glasgow Life/ UNESCO City of Music, Koda’s Cultural Funds, LiveMX cofunded by the European Union, Nordic Council of Ministers, Nordic Culture Fund, the Performing Rights Society, William Demant Foundation. The Embassy of Denmark in the United Kingdom; The Representation of the Faroe Islands in London; The Embassy of Finland, London; The Finnish Institute, London; The Embassy of Iceland in London; Nordic Council of Ministers; The Royal Norwegian Embassy in London; The Embassy of Sweden in the United Kingdom; Scottish Government; and the British Council.
Curator Team:
- David Fennessy/ Scotland
- Jana Winderen/ Norway
- Juhani Nuorvala/Finland
- Kajsa Antonsson/Sweden
- Þráinn Hjálmarsson/ Iceland
Council of Nordic Composers:
- Juliana Hodkinson (Denmark)
- Knut Olaf Sunde (Norway, Chair 2027)
- Johan Blixt (Sweden)
- Osmo Tapio Räihälä (Finland, Chair 2026)
- Páll Ragnar Pálsson (Iceland)
- Sunleif Rasmussen (Faroes)
- Sine Tofte Hannibal, Secretariat (Denmark)
Project Management and Production:
- Rachel Faulkner, Project Manager, Denmark
- Petra Piiroinen, Producer, Finland
Baltic Music Days 2027, managed by the Estonian Composers Union:
- Märt-Matis Lill, Artistic Director
- Janeli Sundja, Producer
With thanks to our colleagues at the Association of Faroese Composers, the Danish Composers Society, the Finnish Composers Society, the Icelandic Composers Society, the Norwegian Composers Society, the Society of Swedish Composers, Art Music Denmark, Art Music Scotland, Faroe Music Export, Music Finland, Iceland Music and Music Norway.