We are delighted to announce that Tze Yeung Ho (b. 1992) has accepted the position as the new Artistic Director of Borealis – a festival for experimental music! He takes over from Peter Meanwell, who became the new director of Lydgalleriet on 1 September.
Tze Yeung Ho is a Norwegian-Finnish composer and performer with a PhD in Composition from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and a master’s degree in Composition from the Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH). He has previously lived between Oslo and Helsingfors and is currently based in Skien as the recipient of the Skien Municipality Arts Grant 2025/26.
Tze Yeung Ho has established himself with a practice spanning composition, sound installation, and interdisciplinary collaborative projects, and has extensive experience in curation and concert production in Norway and across the Nordic region. His music was Norway’s contribution to the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2024, and he has been co-organizer of, among others, Oslofoni and Ung Nordisk Musikk, actively contributing to promoting experimental music in various contexts.
Borealis audiences were most recently introduced to Tze Yeung Ho as a composer in 2025, when the festival opened with his chamber opera Nara – a major and successful project that brought together guest artists from Hong Kong and several Nordic countries, and was very well received.
The Artistic Director position received 46 applications from 17 countries. The Borealis board is impressed by the quality of the applicant pool; nearly all candidates met the requirements of the job posting. The high number and quality of applications demonstrate Borealis’ position both nationally and internationally, while also reflecting the pressures faced by art, culture, and freedom of expression in many parts of the world. We are grateful for the trust shown by so many strong applicants in our organization.
The board and staff at Borealis are delighted to welcome Tze Yeung Ho. With his background as a composer and curator, and his commitment to experimental music across disciplines and countries, Borealis gains a young, highly competent, and visionary leader with both Nordic roots and international perspectives.
Tze Yeung Ho will begin in a 50% position from 1 December 2025 and will transition to 80% from 1 August 2026. The term runs for four years from August 2026, with the possibility of extension.
We look forward to getting to know Tze Yeung and his vision, which will shape the next chapter of Borealis’ journey!