Happy Day of Equality!

Happy Minna Cath Day – Day of Equality!

Cecilia Damström on Minna Canth street in Kuopio 17.03.2022

What a wonderful week it has been, in the former home town of Minna Cath – Kuopio – working together with the fantastic Maria Itkonen and Kuopio Symphony Orchestra! The ice was thick enough to walk (or skate!) on, the sun was always shining, the people were amazing, the concert outstanding and the concert review raving! 

“Damström’s wonderful musical language is impressive.Cecilia Damström’s piece Lucrum now fits our time a little too well. The Helsingborg Orchestra commissioned the work from Damström to their theme “The Seven Deadly Sins,” and greed is now the sin that attacks our eyes and ears from the media every day.

Damström works with the subject musically superbly through elements of growth, continuously adding more and more through demanding musical structures. A magnificent work from one of our leading composers of the new generation. Itkonen managed to bring out fantastic effects out of the orchestra.”

Jussi Mattila for Savon Sanomat 19.3.2022

Cecilia Damström on ice in Kupio 16.3.2022

Sunset on ice in Kuopio 16.3.2022. Photo©Cecilia Damström

Maria Itkonen rehearsing in Kuopio. Photo©Cecilia Damström

Maria Itkonen on ice. Photo©Cecilia Damström

Happy composer Cecilia Damström, soloist Aapo Juutilainen and
conductor Maria Itkonen after a great concert in Kuopio 17.03.2022

ICE nominated for the Teosto-Prize!

In the midst of everything terrible happening in the world, one amazing thing happened in my life that I would like to share with you: my piece ICE is nominated for the Teosto-prize alongside 11 other amazing works of music by colleagues! ICE was commissioned by Lahti Green Capital of Europe 2021 and was premiered by the world's first carbon neutral orchestra Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by their fantastic chief conductor Dalia Stasevska.

Teosto-Prize nominees 2022. Photo by Jussi Helttunen

About the piece ICE: The piece is inspired by melting ice and in the piece we can hear how landscapes and winter become ever shorter, in the end while alarm signals are chiming and all possible breaks are put into action. Through this piece I try to express how global warming as well as the collapse of ecosystems and the ever faster growing tempo of the world, is killing the beautiful snow and ice structures of millions of years, and how the heart of the earth is fighting for its existence through each beat. In this piece I have also tried to describe what happens if we WILL take action: you can hear a rewind, how action has an impact and can make us go back to winters. The name ICE stands both for ice and for “In Case of Emergency”.

Cecilia Damström: ICE. Photo by Jussi Helttunen

The whole launch event of the Teosto Prize can be watched (in Finnish) online under this link. The nominees have been mentioned the Finnish media by Helsingin Sanomat, YLE, Hufvudstadsbladet, Soundi, Rumba, Keski-Uusimaa and Etelä-Saimaa.The Teosto-prize will be awarded on the 19th of May 2022, but as cheesy as it sounds: I feel already like a winner for having been nominated for this prize. 

If you haven’t yet heard ICE, have a listen here via the link below! (And you can of course always also listen a second or third time!  )

ICE by Lahti Symphony Orchestra

About the Teosto-prize (in Finnish)

Happy International Women’s Day!

Happy International Women’s Day! Very honoured that the Finnish Composers’ Copyright Society Teosto has chosen to highlight my music alongside the music of 15 other talented composers in their article. I hope music can bring you hope also in these difficult times.