Seminar of the Society of Finnish Composers

The programme for the Tampere Biennale, now in its 40th year, is clearly more multicultural than before. On the other hand, interculturalism is not a new phenomenon in music: composers have always travelled extensively, absorbed influences from different musical cultures, and at the same time enriched the musical life of their new homeland with fresh perspectives.

The Society of Finnish Composers will invite you to join us in a discussion on the diversity of music and the multiculturalism of composers in Finland. We hope that this event will provide an opportunity to hear about different experiences, share thoughts, and reflect together on how the Finnish music scene can continue to be open, diverse, and vibrant.

The event will be opened by Sari Karttunen, Doctor of Social Sciences and docent, with a speech entitled Who Gets to Belong? Experiences of Artists with a Foreign Background in Finland. She will present the diversity report Foreign-born artists in Finland (2023) published by the Center for Cultural Policy Research (Cupore). The report takes a critical look at many statistics, classifications, and sensitive concepts related to the topic, and maps the working and earning opportunities of artists with a foreign background in Finland.

The seminar is organized in collaboration with the European Composer & Songwriter Alliance (ECSA). In his speech, ECSA board member and composer Niilo Tarnanen will discuss European mobility policy and its potential to increase composers’ engagement in their new countries of residence.

During the event, we will also feature speeches by composers who have moved to Finland and those who have moved from Finland to other countries. They will talk about what it is like to study and work at the intersection of multiple cultures. The composers interviewed are Jaime Belmonte, Juha T. Koskinen, and Jin Oh.

The seminar will be held in English.

You are warmly welcome to join the discussion!