This year's Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (HCMF) is starting in mid-November, with a strong focus on Finnish music. With a three-year cooperation agreement signed between HCMF and Music Finland, Finnish music will be the focus of the festival from 2024 to 2026. HCMF, held between November 15 and 24, is the UK's largest festival of new and experimental music and is known as one of Europe's leading and most prestigious contemporary music events.

HCMF offers Finnish composers and musicians a perfect opportunity to get their music presented, increase their international visibility, and create networks and new collaborations. The Finnish repertoire, composers, and performers are chosen by the festival's Artistic Director, Graham McKenzie.

The entire program of HCMF has now been published on the festival's website. This year, the festival features Tytti Arola, Maija Hynninen and Matilda Seppälä performing their own works (read more here). Defunensemble presents e.g. works by Antti Auvinen, Lauri Supponen and Sami Klemola. Violist Hanna Hohti performs Nordic repertoire in her solo concert, including a piece by Perttu Haapanen. English horn player Ben Goldscheider plays Johanna Eränkö's work, and the world-famous Arditti Quartet plays music by Kaija Saariaho.

HCMF brings together prominent professionals in the contemporary music field and key European networks. HCMF's previous partner countries have included e.g. France, Switzerland, Ireland, and all Nordic countries except Finland.