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

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

Wasteland

 This week it's time for the world premiere of Wasteland with Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra and Ville Matvejeff! This 20 minute orchestra piece in five movements is the craziest piece of music I have written so far, my own "Rite of Spring". The rehearsals sounded fantastic and I can't wait for the premiere on Thursday the 1st of September!

Wasteland is inspired by some very complex issues, and because complex issues can't be explained with a few words, hence long program note below:

Every year an average Swede will buy 13 kilograms of clothes and throw away about 7.5 kilograms of clothes. About 60 percent of the clothes that are thrown away are whole and clean, but only 3.8 kilograms of textiles per person are annually collected by charity organisations. At least 0.13 kilograms of clothes per person are sold second hand. In Finland the numbers are even higher. As much as 19 kilograms of clothes are bought and 13 kilograms are thrown away annually per person.  For producing one kilogram of cotton you will need 7 000 – 29 000 litres of water and 0.3 –1 litre of oil.  To produce one kilogram of cloth generates about 10-15 kilograms of  greenhouse gases.

In recent years second hand clothes have become increasingly popular in Scandinavia, and bringing your clothes to a collection is considered a way to “have a clean conscience”. But according to a report by the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle only around 20 percent of the collected clothes can be sold in shops in Scandinavia. Around 10 percent are burnt immediately and up to 70 percent are sent further to sorting units, usually situated in the Baltic countries or Germany. At this point a small part is used for upcycling, such as fillings for car seats. But most of the clothes are sent to some of the poorest countries in the world, like for instance Mozambique. The black market of cheap bad quality clothes disrupts these countries’ own textile industry. As a large part of the clothes are of too bad quality to wear anymore, they end up in landfills.

The first movement “Wear” is about how we use different clothes for different occasions, like for instance certain clothes for christmas parties, maybe other clothes for concerts and again something else when we are going out partying with friends. The clothes might be bought second hand and be used several times, but everything at an increasing tempo.

The second movement “Toss” is the journey the clothes make together with their owner to collection containers where they are tossed in, and from where they are collected by a lorry. The third movement “Sort” is a description of collection and sorting halls. The movement is like a slow “zoom out” during which you slowly begin to realise what a large amount of “Christmas- and party clothes” there are intended to be recycled: in Finland annually around 14 million kilograms and in Sweden around 38 million kilograms, an overwhelming amount.

The fourth movement “Burn” is about what happens to at least 80 percent of all textile waste: it is burned with mixed waste. In best case the waste burning can be used for generating new energy, but it is not a sustainable way to use resources.

The last movement “Flow” is about what we call “Greenwashing”, in other words marketing something as sustainable even though it actually isn’t. In an investigating article by Yle a factory plant of the Finnish firm Fortum is viewed in detail. The factory refines salts from environmentally hazardous APC ashes (APC = Air Pollution Control) from incineration waste. Then these salts are rinsed out together with the wastewater of the process, straight into the Baltic Sea, as there is “lack of proof that it would be harmful for the environment”. The regulations which state that ashes from incineration waste should not be used unrefined, due to environmental risks, are circumvented in this way. 

Wasteland is a shout out that recycling can’t be “one option of many”, as it has to be the only viable choice for our resources to be sufficient. The responsibility for recycling shouldn’t lie solely with consumers, but should also be mandatory for producers. With this piece, I want to make people understand that if we can “afford” to consume, we must also be able to afford to take care of the waste we are creating. This must be regulated by law so that the responsibility cannot be shifted to poorer and / or corrupt countries.

Photo by the fantastic Ville Juurikkala

Some thoughts on International Woman's Day!

Happy International Woman's Day!

International Woman's Day is a slightly "different" concert day compared to other concert days. Why? Because this is usually the only day in the year where you are likely to come across concert programs consisting of only female composers, while all other days of the year it is the norm to come across concert programs with only male composers.

If you would make every week a concert, and only this week included female composers, that is more or less also what the statistics for the world would be, around 1.9 percent. According to a survey of the 22 largest American orchestras, women composers accounted for only 1.8 percent of the total pieces performed in the 2014-2015 concert season. In the last years the numbers have gone slightly up, so maybe like adding a second all female concert on Mother's Day.

After knowing these not so encouraging numbers, it is therefore heart warming to see everyone who is trying to bring change. Thank You!

Thank you to 

Kokonainen

 for making concert series striving for equality. Thank you to the founders and artistic directors 

Linda Suolahti

 and 

Mari Viluksela

 for keeping up this wonderful work for already 5 years now! Thank you to 

Hbl - Hufvudstadsbladet

 and 

Wilhelm Kvist

 for questioning these norms and lifting these uncomfortable discussions up to light, and asking the questions about representation. Thank you to the research association 

Suoni ry

 , which seeks to advance musical practices and music research as a site for societal discussions. Thank you to the Swedish organisations 

KVAST

 and 

Konstmusiksystrar

 who have have had an enormous impact on that the Swedish music scene for the better. Thank you to every single person and organisation, who is working for a more equal concert music scene. Thank you! 

Very happy to this year be performed in an online concert by 

Den akademiska damkören Linnea

 conducted by the fantastic 

Merete Ellegaard

. This concert consists of compositions composed by both women AND men, just as it should be, today and also all other days of the year. We are in this together. 

The piece "hjärteblad" is the third movement of my cycle "Vidkänning", composed to amazing poems by 

Henrika Ringbom

 and can be heard at the very end of the concert (at 58:25 min). If you understand Swedish, I of course strongly recommend you to listen to the whole concert!

https://youtu.be/BKX6dUh9nc8?t=3504 

Composer Cecilia Damström. Photo by Marthe Veian 2017.

How Covid-19 Changed my 2020

This picture was taken exactly five weeks ago after I had given a guest lecture about my music at Malmö Academy of Music, a week during which I was working as a jury member for the new composition student admissions for my former university. How much life has changed since then!

Four weeks ago on Monday the 9th of March I flew home from Malmö, departing from Copenhagen airport. I was one of the only ones using a face mask at the airport, and happily unknowing my timing was quite perfect, travelling about 5 days before Denmark made a one month travel ban.

Since then all my concerts and events have been cancelled or postponed. I was looking forward to giving a speak about political music at Tampere Biennale's composer seminar, to hear my string quartet Via Crucis be performed at Heta Music Days in Lappland, to hear the wonderful conductor Christian Reif perform my piece Lucrum with W and last but not least: making my Australian debut with my piece Tundo! played by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Håkan Hardenberger. In total 14 concerts with my music cancelled (so far). 

More over I started to have slight flu-like symptoms fours days after my travel and went into voluntary quarantine on Friday the 13th of March. The first 8 days I had not much fever (about 37.8°C), hardly any cough, just a little sore throat, some muscle pain, nausea and headaches and a lot of tiredness all the time. On day 9 my breathing difficulties started, which over time have become less but still not seized (now day 26 in total). I was twice checked up but as I'm not in the risk group, I wasn't tested for COVID-19. 

But despite this all above I feel I have been very lucky and am at good spirit. I'm in a privileged position considering work, as nothing has changed so far - working from home as usual. As soon as I'm able again, I will be working on a new piece for violin and piano for the one and only Pekka Kuusisto and Tarmo Peltokoski, can't wait!

My warmest thoughts are with all my friends in the different cultural fields as well as in other fields (for instance restaurants) who lost several month of work due to the pandemic. My thoughts are also with all the brave and hard working doctors and nurses out at the front line under enormous pressure and and endangering their own lives. And my sincere condolences to all who have lost loved ones to COVID-19.

Just wanted to give an update whats been going in my life and that I'm okay! Sending you all lots of love and hope! Take care!😘

My Choral Music in Concert

This weekend is CHOIR weekend!

EMO Ensemble © Photo by Antti Kangassalo

My latest piece Vidkänningar for female choir to the poems by Henrika Ringbom will get its premiere by Den akademiska damkören Linnea conducted by Merete Ellegaard today at 7PM in Linköping, Sweden! They are also going to perform the piece on Saturday 13.4 in Åtvindaberg, on Monday 15.4 in Brokind and on the 27.4 again in Linköping! Friends in Linköping, welcome!

Den akademiska Damkören Linnea

On Monday 15.4 at 7PM my piece Angor (which won the VocalEspoo composition competition in 2016) will be performed again by the wonderful EMO Ensemble conducted by Pasi Hyökki at Kino Soi in Kino Tapiola. A wonderful program of new choral music, a strong recommendation to all friends in Finland!

EMO Ensemble © Photo by Antti Kangassalo

Happy Women's Day!

Happy Woman's Day to all great women out there!

Very happy Tampere Hall is arranging two wonderful concerts with music by so many wonderful composers! 

March 10th Kaija Saariaho - La Passion de Simone

March 24th Minna Canth - Naisen Muotokuva (Music by Wennäkoski, Leinonen and yours truly)

In honour of today's festivity you get a discount of the concert tickets until Sunday March 10th given my Tampere Hall, by ordering from here!

Today as well is the world premiere of the movement Hjärteblad from the cycle Vidkänning composed to poems by Henrika Ringbom. Vidkänning is composed for and performed by Akademiska Damkören Linnea and conductor Merete Ellegaard in their concerts Ett stycke kvinnokamp.

Also super excited about that it's exactly ONE WEEK to the premiere of my school opera Djurens Planet at the Finnish National Opera! The premiere is already sold out but welcome on the 16th of March, or one of the 120 performances during the next 2 years all around Finland!

Last but not least; feeling huge gratitude about the great premiere of my piece "Epitaph" Ville Hautakangas played two days ago in Tampere Hall! But a whole post about that coming up!

Life is good!

Thank You 2018!

2018 was an amazing year! It started well off with the prize for best children opera of the year followed by a commission by the Finnish National Opera, three orchestral premieres, having music performed in about 30 concerts and winning the award for young composer of the year in Sweden. Being selected by Hufvudstadsbladet to their list "40 under 40 who have already made a huge impact on our society" was quite an fun and extraordinary way to end the year 2018!

Wishing everyone a wonderful 2019 filled with love and joy!

Intense Concert Week Ahead

In about one weeks time "Sof godt!" for mezzo soprano, baritone and orchestra will get it's world premiere on the 8th of October at 6PM in Vaasa City Hall! The piece will also be performed in the Schauman Hall in Jakobstad on the 9th of October and in Helsinki at the old concert hall of Sandels Music Institute on the 11th of October, both concerts at 6PM!

In exactly two weeks time my second piano quintet "Aino - Emotions from the Life of Aino Sibelius" will get it's Swedish premiere in the Berwald Hall in Stockholm on the 13th of October at 1 PM!

For this reason I would like to share the recording of the last movement "Iron" from Aino, recorded at the world premiere last June at the amazing Kokonainen Festival! Please have a listen!

All concerts, just as the streaming of this recording, for free!

https://soundcloud.com/ceciliadamstrom/aino-iv-rautaa-iron