Northern Connection will culminate at the Nordic Music Days festival in Glasgow, Scotland, featuring Finland’s defunensemble (pictured), Norway’s Ensemble Temporum, and Scotland’s Red Note Ensemble. These ensembles will perform works specially commissioned for the Northern Connection project.

Northern Connection is a project that links the Nordic countries and Scotland by strengthening relationships between composers, ensembles, and contemporary music festivals. In this project, composers have received new commissions, ensembles have gained new material for their repertoires, and festivals have benefited from new programming from neighboring countries.

The Nordic Music Days festival offers a stage for ensembles to perform commissioned works from the Northern Connection project, with some pieces being performed for the second or even third time. The core principle of the project is sustainability, with a focus on sustainable development and ecological awareness. It enables long-term collaboration among contemporary music professionals in the northern regions. For example, Ensemble Temporum travels to Scotland by land, and defunensemble compensates their flights.

In addition to the Northern Connection ensembles, the Nordic Music Days festival will showcase a wide range of Finnish music and feature over 200 musicians and composers from across the Nordic region, including Finland, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Scotland. Reflecting the values shared with the Northern Connection project, partnership and exchange are central to the festival’s mission.

Northern Connection started in 2023 with Finland, Norway, and Scotland as partner countries. In 2024, Iceland and Denmark joined the project. Northern Connection was initiated by Music Finland and is led by Nordic Music Export Offices.

More information can be found on the projects website: northernconnection.net
And on the event's website: nordicmusicdays.org/2024/