Saturday 26 November 2022

Thanksgiving

First of advent and the weekend of thanksgiving and so many things in the past weeks that I’m thankful of that I don’t really know how to sum it up or where to begin! (Trigger warning: a long post of thankfulness and blessings.)

Thank you Lili Bogdanova-Essl and Michael Essl for wonderful three days in Berlin, one of my favourite cities in the world. Was also a great honour to be included in this year’s Klangwerkstatt Berlin on the 10th of November with my piece Groove, performed by Marianna Schürmann and Christine Paté alongside music by my colleagues Juha T. Koskinen and Tapio Tuomela. And so good to see my uni friend Simiam Ghan again and my colleague Cia Rinne, whom I’m currently working together with, as well!



Marianna Schürmann, Christine Paté and Cecilia Damström at Klangwerstatt Berlin 2022

Concert Location in Kreuzberg for Klangwerkstatt Berlin 2022

Cecilia Damström and poet Cia Rinne on the 11.11.22 in Berlin


Had three wonderful days in New York, the city that never sleeps and had a great meeting with Elizabeth Blaufox from Boosey & Hawkes (the publisher who represents me in the US and UK). Also stayed in a charity based hostel, through which I got to hand out food to homeless people in New York. Got to see the composition recital of the students at the Juilliard School and bumped into professor Andrew Norman, one of my favourite composers. Saw the superb musical “Into the Woods”, a musical who's musical director and pianist is my friend Evan Rees, with whom I studied together composition for Samuel Adler in 2012 in Berlin! At the same course I met Evan in 2012, I also met the wonderful Elizabeth Nonemaker, with whom we managed to squeeze in a lunch in New York this November, reunited with this wonderful person after 10 years! Also made new friends, for instance Jackie at the hostel, with whom I had a meaningful 3 hour conversation in Spanish about life and spirituality. (I’m quite proud this is still possible 11 years after my Erasmus exchange to Spain.)
Cecilia Damström with Elizabeth Blaufox at Boosey & Hawkes in November 2022

Went by train to Washington DC, where Garrick Zoeter picked me up. This inspiring and wonderful clarinettist was more than the best imaginable host! He showed me around Washington DC (The Capitol, The Whitehouse and the Kennedy Music Centre), drove me to Winchester Virgina, brought me to dinner together with his colleagues each night and drove me even to the magnificent Lurey Caverns on my free day, where I got to see spectacular 400 million year old caves of stalactites and stalagmites! (Also: the hotel that the Shenandoah Conservatory put me in was so comfortable, I think even the bathroom was three times bigger than the cubicle “room” I had in New York!). 


Cecilia Damström at the Capitol in Washington DC in November 2022




Cecilia Damström at the Lurey caves 17th of November 2022

Cecilia Damström lecturing at Shenandoah Conservatory 18th of November 2022


I was given the opportunity to talk about my music to the composition class of Jonathan Newman at the Shenandoah Conservatory and share my music with them. On Friday evening the 18th of November my main reason for my US travel took place: Garrick and his wonderful colleagues Julietta Curenton, Stephen Key, Ryan Romine and Alexander Bernstein gave an absolutely splendid US Premiere of Piano Quintet No.3: Helene - Nuances from the Life of Helene Schjerfbeck. (Listen to it yourself, link above to the recording!)

Cecilia Damström and the Van Buren Quintet 2022


The weekend I got to spend with my dear friend, composer Lucy McKnight at her wonderful home. I got to attend one of her concerts at Princeton University, see the legendary grounds of famous university and meet her wonderful friends Kennedy Dixon, James Moore, Connor Elias Way and many more, as well as her lovely cats.

Kennedy and Lucy outside Princeton University November 20th 2022


After a refreshing 22hours at home in Helsinki I was lucky to travel on the 23rd of November to the small city of Jakobstad (in Finland) for the wonderful Rusk Festival. This year’s theme was “Gods and goddesses”, so my piece Celestial beings suited the festival so well, that the opening concert was even named after my piece! It was such a honour to have Aleksander Koelbel and Mina Fred from the superb contemporary music ensemble Norrbotten NEO perform my piece! (Link to the recording of the opening concert in the comments!) And because they played the third movement in the opening concert and the other two movements in the chamber music concert on Friday, I was fortunate enough to be able to stay at the festival from Wednesday to Saturday and had the opportunity to get to know all the other wonderful musicians as well as hear and experience all the inspiring concerts artistic director Anna-Maria Helsing hat put together. Thank you Mina, Aleksander, Nick Shugaev, Mårten Landström , Johan Ullén, Robert Ek, Christian Svarfvar, Senja Rummukainen, Anabel Montesinos, Sara Hammarström, Tanja Nisonen, Martin Granström and everyone involved for a truly wonderful week in Jakobstad!

Mina Fred, Cecilia Damström and Aleksander Koelbel at the RUSK Festival in Finland 2022


Ended the week together with my friend Linda Suolahti, seeing my favourite comedian Hannah Gadsby perform live in Helsinki. Such a mind-blowing performance!
The past 2,5 years haven’t always been easy, having suffered from Long Covid from March 2020 until September 2022 (and having had cover five times so far). Many times during the past years I have wondered if I ever would be back to normal again, so it feels simply incredible to finally feel like I have got my life back! Each of the things I have mentioned feel like a blessing, but the biggest blessing of all at the moment is having a heathy body to experience all the things above and of course all the lovely people with whom I have had the privilege to experience these moments with. Thank you.❤️

Thursday 10 November 2022

November Concerts

November is here with a sparkling variety of concerts and me trying to keep up with them! 😅  This month my music is traveling to Germany, Canada, USA and different cities in Finland. 

November began with a pang: an excerpt of my string orchestra piece Fretus was performed during the Nordic Council Prize Ceremony. The event was streamed live to all Nordic Countries and can be seen online under this link. The exerpt of Fretus, a piece dedicated to all the oceans of our world, is performed before and after announcing the winner of the Nordic Council Enviroment Prize.

4th of November: The second movement Rädda mig from my choral suite Min Gud composed to Psalm 22 will get it's Canadian premiere by the Vancouver Chamber Choir conducted by the genious Kari Turunen. The piece Min Gud composed in 2010 is a very important work for me, and quotes from this work can be heard in several of my later works, so I'm very thankful for this performance.

10th of November: my playful duo Groove for flute and accordion is getting its German premiere at Klangwerkstatt Berlin Festival für Neue Musik. Groove is a piece which combines a fusion of jazz, progressive rock, latino rhythms and contemporary music elements and I can't wait to hear it again!

17th of November: Very happy about the Danish premiere of my piano solo pieces Characters and Under Stjärnhimlen, performed by the magnificent Xenia Frederiksen at Viborg Musikforening in Viborg Musiksal. You can find more information about the event here and find tickets here.

18th of November: Very happy that my music is returning to the United States and an other US premiere, with nothing less than my 20 minute Piano Quintet Helene - Nuances from the Life of Helene Schjerfbeck inspired by paintings and the life of the most famous Finnish modernist painter Helene Schjerfbeck.

23rd of November: The third movement Athena from my duo Celestial Beings will be performed at the opening concert of the RUSK festival in Jakobstad, Finland.  Link to the festival’s program here.

25th “Aphrodite” and “Persephone”from “Celestial Beings” will be performed at RUSK at the concert ”Souls of Ill Repute” at 6PM

28th of November: My piano solo piece Epitaph will be released on the splendid Ville Hautakangas’ debut album 12 Premieres! Soon avaiable on streaming platforms! The concert is part of the Pirkanmaa Piano Festival.

Moreover I will also be travelling thanks to these concerts to Berlin 9-12th of November, to New York 13-15th of November, to Winchester Virginia 16-19th of November, to Princeton University 20th of November as well as within Finland to Jakobstad 23-26th of November and Tampere 28th of November, so please feel free to reach out if you are in the vicinity.


Composer Cecilia Damström. ©Photo by Ville Juurikkala


Saturday 1 October 2022

October Concerts

 October is here and I would like to share this month concert, where and when my music will be performed:

🎹Sat 1st: Epitaph performed by Tuomas Turriago in Keminmaa at 8PM
🎨 Sun 2nd: The German premiere of Expressionen by Trio Klangspectrum at 7PM at Hörfest Neue Musik in Detmold
🔮Tue 11th: The Danish premiere of Psychedelic by Reetamaria Rajala in at 6PM in Copenhagen
🎶Fri 21st: Piano Delirium performed by Reetamaria Rajala at 7PM at Vara Concert Hall in Sweden
🎻Thu 27th: Lucrum by Joensuu City Orchestra and Maria Itkonen @joensuunkaupunginorkesteri @mariaitkonen at 7PM at the Carelia Hall, Joensuu, Finland
📻 Thu 27th: Swedish Radio Broadcast of my orchestral piece Wasteland by Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra and Ville Matvejeff
All concerts can be found on my website www.ceciliadamstrom.com/when
Have a great October everyone! 😘🍁

Composer Cecilia Damström. Photo by Ville Juurikkala


On the photo: Composer Cecilia Damström
Photo by: Ville Juurikkala
Make up: Maria Boucht Makeup
Dress (out of recycled plastic): MIAM Clothing

Sunday 18 September 2022

Wasteland Reviews

Two weeks since the premiere of Wasteland with the fantastic Norrlandsoperan and superb Ville Matvejeff!

Here the heart warming reviews:

"The premiere of the Finnish-Swedish composer Cecilia Damström’s work Wasteland in five short movements was probably the work I was really looking forward to the most. The music was characterized by strong dynamics, shifting richness of colour and, not least, sharp contrasts. Here, the orchestral outfit is really used for a striking rhythm. With its themes around the clothing industry and greenwashing, the work also conveyed something as unusual as a sharp post in the ongoing climate debate. Norrlandsoper’s symphony orchestra really played at its peak and the conductor Ville Matvejeff’s way of leading the orchestra really celebrated triumphs. It also reminds me what a spectacular “instrument” the symphony orchestra is in capable hands."

by Bengt Hultman, Västerbottens-Kuriren, 2nd of September 2022

"Now we got to enjoy a piece of very entertaining orchestral music, where Damström enhances as much sound effects as she can, supported in an exemplary manner by the conductor Ville Matvejeff. It becomes a patchwork of colorful contrasts where Damström weaves in quotes from “Den blomstertid nu kommer”, a snippet from “Carmen”, a couple of teasingly familiar schlager refrains, resounding trombone glissandos, clinks, thumps and plink-plonks from the percussionists, well, anything you can wish for. "

by Gunnar Wiklund, Folkbladet, 2nd of September 2022

Big thank you to Norrlandsoperan and Ville Matvejeff for the fantastic premiere and to Erik Mikael Karlsson, Dan Turdén, Stefan Holmström and Gene Kindell for having me and for a great week in Umeå!

Have good start into the new week everyone!
Cecilia



Composer Cecilia Damström. Photo by Ville Juurikkala

Photo: Ville Juurikkala 
Makeup: Maria Boucht Makeup
Jacket: MIAM Clothing
Music Publisher: Gehrmans Musikförlag

Friday 9 September 2022

Viljo the Rabbit 2009-2022

 Viljo the Rabbit 2009-2022


Last Sunday my beloved rabbit and friend Viljo died at the animal hospital surrounded by me and my parents. For some reason people always asked me (while he still was alive) if rabbits “can do anything as pets” so here follows a story about Viljo and how special he was.


When I first got to know Viljo, it wasn’t “love at first sight”. My former flatmate Maija in Tampere had had him a few years earlier, given him away, and the new owner couldn't anymore have him and said they would put Viljo down if not anyone would take him, so Maija, who loves animals, asked in the autumn of 2012 if we could take him. I was not super enthusiastic in the beginning to have a rabbit in addition to my flatmate’s dog Dexter, but neither did I want a dead rabbit on my conscience, so I agreed. The first dog Dexter and rabbit became good friends (as seen in the photo below).


Viljo and Dexter 2012. Photo © Cecilia Damström



After half a year Maija took a second dog to take care of. The new dog saw Viljo as a tasty meal all of the time, and once when I came home after a weekend away, the whole kitchen looked like a bomb had exploded. Maija told me her second dog had managed to open the unlocked kitchen door and the rabbit cage and apparently had chased the rabbit all through the kitchen. As through a miracle Viljo had not died of the shock and also survived by hiding behind the motor of the deep freezer until Maija came home. This was the first time I felt really sorry for Viljo, as I saw how afraid he was, he was shaking and looking very depressed. When Maija moved out and my new flatmate Jari moved in, I suggested to Maija she would leave the rabbit with me and Jari, because it might not survive with the new dog.


Jari and Viljo 2013. Photo © Cecilia Damström




Jari at once took to Viljo and suggested we should let him roam free in the kitchen to which I agreed and after a while he was allowed to roam free in the hallway. And what a change this territory expansion did to Viljo! He began lying in the hall waiting for me to come home, behaving just like the first dog Dexter. When I came home he would hop around my feet in circles and make a small grunting noise (those who know, they know), to show how happy he was.



Viljo in Jari's guitar case 2013. Photo © Cecilia Damström


Viljo became a very sociable rabbit. He loved when people would have conversations in the kitchen or hallway (“his” territory) and would jump in eights around both peoples feet, to show his joy. He thought however that it would be best if no-one left the house ever, and clever as he was, he tried to sabotage all means of traveling that he had considered might work: he chewed the wheels of my suitcase, the straps of my backpack and once even the soles of my shoes. In later years he would take to more “passive aggressive” ways to express his annoyance of traveling: by sulking with the back to me (while in-between turning to check if I'm still looking at him).


Vilje and Jari's brother's cat Lipsu. About 2015


Naturally through me and my guitar playing flatmate Jari, the rabbit Viljo became a true music enthusiast. He listened to everything from classical music to contemporary music (preferring Lutoslawski over Messiaen). Jari’s flamenco guitar playing got a special place in his heart. Jari even brought Viljo to my final recital in the Pyynikki hall, the full rabbit review of my concert can be read here: https://ceciliadamstrom.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-rabbit-review.html


Vilje and I in January 2013. Photo © Cecilia Damström


The summers from 2013 Viljo lived always with my parents at the summer house. We tried building him a big outdoor cage, but he was just very offended and wanted to stay rather inside and listen to Radio Classic, while eating kale and blueberries. The most elitist personality I’ve known. (Viljo must feel honoured that The Queen has joined him last night.)


Viljo looking at the sea 2013. Photo © Cecilia Damström


When I moved to Sweden, Viljo lived first for about 2 years with Jari after which he moved in 2017 to Helsinki, mainly living with my parents. His territory became the living room, with a corner for his toilet and rabbit food. But most of his time he spent under the living room dining table, among people’s feet, his favorite place. When he got older he started making a bit of a mess, but hugely appreciated when we cleaned up, and would show it by hopping around eagerly on his clean carpets. I bought a white robot vacuum cleaner for my parents to help, and Viljo also got acquainted with it, although always making sure to show the vacuum that he (Viljo) was the boss and was not going to move for the vacuum.





They say cats have 9 lives but it seems also Viljo had at least 6. According to Wikipedia, rabbits become between 7-9 years old (and insurance stops at 7 years), but Viljo became over 12 years old (12 years 8 month and 26 days). In addition to the already mentioned near escapes in 2012 and 2013, Viljo fell for the first time seriously ill in the late winter of 2018 and again in the autumn 2019 and in the spring 2021, but thanks to the superb vet Delphine (and quite huge investments on our part in the treatment) he managed all these times as well. I myself went through a very hard breakup in 2019, fell ill in depression after which I in addition fell ill with Covid-19 in early 2020 followed by serious long covid for more than 2 years. Much of this time I lived with my parents and Viljo was with me through all of it, sitting with me on the sofa while I watched TV and sitting at my feet while I composed. He was the first creature to hear my compositions besides me, while they were written. He was never happy when I dated someone, because I think he thought during the last five years that I was his partner. When I became single in 2014 and 2019 he was overjoyed both times. He was the happiest at the summerhouse, in the late evenings and when I didn’t leave the house (like on days when I composed all day).


Viljo by the sea 2013. Photo © Cecilia Damström


Last Saturday Viljo was getting more and more tired and on Sunday my parents brought him for the last time to the vet. Sadly Delphine wasn’t there this time. Viljo was diagnosed with an inflamed appendix. We paid for the extra treatment they had to offer, but it didn’t help, they said we have to come and say goodbye. He had been given relaxants and couldn’t move well anymore, but with his last energy he dragged himself on the table so that he lay with his head against my father for a while, against me for a while and against my mother. He wanted to show how he appreciated all of us. And then he sat up and cleaned himself.


Last hour of Viljo's life 4th of September 2022



Viljo was such a special rabbit, I doubt I will ever meet such an exquisite rabbit ever again. I am forever thankful to him for being at my side during my most difficult times in life so far. Thank you Viljo for everything.


Viljo's grave 5th of September 2022