ICE wins the Teosto Prize 2022

I have been so overwhelmed the past week since winning the Teosto Prize* from all the positive responses and wonderful greetings!

Teotso Prize Winners 2022. Photo Jussi Helttunen

Now I would like to share with you a few pictures from the event. It feels unbelievable that I was given the chance by Dalia Stasevska and Lahti Symphony Orchestra to compose a work for them and the European Green Capital Lahti 2021, a work about climate change, and it feels even more unbelievable that this for me so important work also now won the Teosto Prize 2022! Huge thank you to both the pre-jury, who selected my work for nomination as well as the final jury who awarded me the prize!

Also a big congratulations to the other three winners, Yona , Linda Fredriksson and Evil Stöö as well as to all the other amazing nominated composers!

Cecilia Damström with conductor Dalia Stasevska after ICE winning the Teosto Prize 2022

I would also like to give a huge thanks to my family and friends who have been there for me and have supported my choice to become a composer, in both good times and bad. Never once did my parents question my decision to become a composer, on the contrary: it was my mother who suggested I’d study composition in the first place, so an extra huge thank you to my dear mother, who suggested this path that has felt right ever since.

Teosto Prize Winners 2022. Photo Jussi Helttunen.

I’m very honoured, happy and proud to be the first woman within classical music to win the Teosto Prize (which has been handed out since 2003). However I would like to draw attention to the fact that I’m by no means the first woman who could have won the prize. I would like to thank all the amazing women within history who have composed amazing music and have been part of the slow transformation toward a more diverse cultural field. A special big shoutout to Kaija Saariaho who has inspired the whole world through her personal music. Looking forward to an even more diverse future within culture as well as in general!

*Teosto is the Finnish copyright organisation for music creators, composers, and publishers. The Teosto Prize is awarded since 2003 to “bold, original and innovative musical works” and it is one of the biggest art awards in the Nordic countries.

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)

ICE video premiere!

What an incredible day!

Photo of composer Cecilia Damström and architect Erkko Aarti. Photo © C. Damström

Today 6.8 my piece “ICE” commissioned by Green Capital Lahti got its video premiere, recorded by Lahti Sinfonia and conducted by Finland’s star conductor Dalia Stasevska (who is still in the UK as she conducted the opening of the Proms!)! The video premiere was on the big screen of Helsinki Music Centre at 12 PM, and is now available online in 100 cities threatened by rising sea levels. 

Sinfonia Lahti on the screen of Helsinki Music Centre 6.8.2021. Photo © C. Damström

After the video premiere, the Mayor of Lahti Pekka Timonen officially cut the ribbon and opened the monumental visual piece I.C.E by Erkko Aarti and his team. The piece can be seen in front of Helsinki main library Oodi for the next 10 days, and all these days from 10 AM to 5 PM my piece ICE can be heard in the Wood Paviljong (on repeat).

The Meyer of Lahti opening the wood pavilion 6.8.2021 Photo © C. Damström

When I was asked in December 2020 if I would like to compose the piece, I immediately had a “vision” of how this piece should sound, it was clear from the beginning to the end. Due to it’s important topic (the climate crisis) this piece is really special to me. My humblest thank you to Green Capital Lahti, Sinfonia Lahti and Dalia Stasevska for your trust in me, and giving me this enormous and amazing opportunity to be part of this!

Air photo of I.C.E by Erkko Aarti. Photo ©Juha-Pekka Huotari / Lahden kaupunki

Photo of I.C.E by Erkko Aarti. Photo © C. Damström

Also a great honour to get the opportunity to collaborate with the super talented Erkko Aarti and his team! Its not everyday a composer gets to collaborate with a prize winning architect and his team! (Well, no part of this project happens “often” in a composers life, to be honest! 😀 )

Still find it hard to believe this all happened today and is real! ❤

Composer Cecilia Damström 6.8.2021.

#greenlahti #greenlahti2021@greenlahti2021 #sinfonialahti@sinfonialahti #daliastasevska@daliastasevskaofficial#ceciliadamström #ceciliadamstrom@ceciliadamstrom #ICE #icemusic#ympäristöpääkaupunki #climatecrisis

Video recording of ICE

Summer has finally come to Finland and German but my heart and mind is currently full of ICE!

Thanks for all of my Instagram followers super inspirational suggestions on music inspired by ice, now my own piece ICE for Sinfonia Lahti and the city of Lahti is finally ready and recorded! Video premiere coming up in August and the concert premiere was announced only this week: January 20th 2022 by Sinfonia Lahti conducted by their amazing brand new chief conductor Dalia Stasevska. 

Thank you Sinfonia Lahti and Dalia for an incredible job and can't wait for everyone to hear what an marvellous interpretation you did of my piece!

And congratulations to the city of Lahti for being the Green Capital of Europe 2021!

Here is a small sneak peek behind the scenes of recording ICE on the 7th of May with Sinfonia Lahti and Dalia Stasevska! 🤩

Was such a fun experience to finally get to work with the fantastic Dalia Stasevska! Amazing on the podium, in rehearsal, in every single way!

Video premiere recorded for August, concert premiere coming up on her first #Mixtape concert on January 20th 2022! So happy that my music is included in Dalia’s first season as chief conductor! 🤩

ICE for Sinfonia Lahti is commissioned in honour of Lahti being the European Green Capital 2021. 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 impact and can make us go back to winters. The name ICE stands both for ice and for “In Case of Emergency”.