Kunzt.no, an award-winning, audience- and crowd-funded platform, visited Borealis and produced a full episode about the festival!
Check out the festival highlights and hear interviews with our Artistic Director Tze Yeung Ho, as well as artists Cecilia Fiona and Jaleh Negari.
Exciting news for Borealis — we have been honoured with the Classical:NEXT Innovation Award!
The Classical:NEXT Innovation Award highlights groundbreaking projects that are shaping the future of classical music worldwide. It celebrates individuals and initiatives that drive progress through bold, yet thoughtful and effective, experimentation in ideas, planning, and action.
A dedicated Nominating Committee, composed of esteemed journalists and an industry expert, ensures a broad international perspective by identifying outstanding projects beyond national and professional boundaries. Each committee member nominates initiatives from their home country, along with one international project, to create an initial longlist. The committee then votes on these nominations, refining the selection to a shortlist of ten. The final recipients are determined through an online vote by all registered Classical:NEXT delegates.
Each year, three recipients are honoured at the Classical:NEXT Innovation Award Ceremony. For 2026, the Innovation Award placed a focus on New Technologies. This theme encompasses projects that meaningfully engage with emerging or advanced tools to reshape how classical and art music is created, performed, experienced, made accessible or understood. This may include works that embed technology as an integral artistic element (such as AI-driven composition, mixed-reality performance, spatial audio, robotics, or interactive digital instruments), initiatives that develop new technological solutions themselves, or artistic explorations that interrogate the evolving relationship between humans and machines. In all cases, the focus is on innovations that push the field forward by expanding creative possibilities, redefining performance practice, or opening new pathways for participation and access within the contemporary classical ecosystem.
Being recognised alongside such inspiring international projects means a great deal to our entire team. This award belongs to everyone who helps shape the Borealis festival — our incredible artists, collaborators, volunteers, partners, and our audience, whose support gives us a strong sense of purpose every year.
We are especially grateful to our former Artistic Director, Peter Meanwell, whose vision and leadership have been instrumental in shaping the festival over the years.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey with us. Borealis shares this recognition with two other outstanding organisations: SOAVE (Stage Orchestra Audio Video Experience) from Italy and Playing with Fire: An Immersive Odyssey from France — congratulations!
Read more about the award, nominated projects, and recipients on the Classical:NEXT website.
Borealis has been shortlisted for the Innovation Award at Classical:NEXT 2026!
We are incredibly happy and honoured to be nominated. The Classical:NEXT Innovation Award places the spotlight on forward-thinking activities taking place around the world.
In the jury’s words, the festival “demonstrated a distinctive engagement with technology as a means of reshaping listening and bodily experience,” highlighting immersive and site-based works such as Sonic Sauna and sea-bathing sound experiences. This recognition means a great deal to us, and to the artists and collaborators who shape the festival each year.
We are delighted to announce that Tze Yeung Ho has accepted the position as the new Artistic Director of Borealis!
A Norwegian-Finnish composer and performer, Tze Yeung brings a vision shaped by experimental music, cross-disciplinary projects, and international collaboration. Read the full press release to learn more!
After a break, we’re excited to welcome you back to BLC — this time with a very special guest: Borealis Artist in Residence Jaleh Negari!
At this Listening Club on January 13, we’ll meet Jaleh, hear about her artistic process, and dive into the ideas that shape her work. The session takes place at Lydgalleriet and is hosted by Peter Meanwell, former Borealis Artistic Director and current director of Lydgalleriet. See you there?
On Friday 14 November at 14:30, Borealis takes over the sauna during Sauna Marathon with Laugaren, filling it with experimental music and sound that will get both blood and senses flowing.
Join us for a listening session that warms body and soul, as we take a musical plunge into the unknown.
Maybe you’ll even get a little hint of what’s to come at Borealis 2026!
Several payed part-time positions are now opening up in Borealis!
We have a core team of people working throughout the year, but as the festival approaches, we need more hands on deck! Want to join our team?Borealis aims to be a workplace where people are seen, supported and given a chance to grow. Tasks and responsibilities will be tailored to the best candidate, and personal suitability can compensate for formal training and other qualifications.
Application deadline: 19 October.
Borealis 2026 is starting to take shape!
To celebrate the new design that will spice up Borealis 2026, Early Bird Festival Passes are now on sale at a special reduced price. The pass works as a discount ticket: it gives access to the whole festival at a lower cost than individual tickets, making it the most affordable way to experience everything Borealis has to offer.
Like last year – our pricing system is scaled so you can choose the price that fits you and your life situation best.
This month we say goodbye to several members of Borealis team. Project manager Güliz Portakaloğlu finishes her traineeship, Head of Production Aistė Žumbakytė moves on to new position at Carte Blanche, and Runa Halleraker is embarking on freelance life, as an artist and photographer. After more than 12 years, our longtime Head of Communications İrem Müftüoğlu, is also leaving. She has been central in shaping the festivals public profile, audience development as well as international delegate programme. We will miss them all dearly, and we wish them the very best!
At the same time we welcome new colleagues: Anette Grindheim steps into the role of Head of Production, while Ania Popowska is our new Head of Communications. Both have worked with Borealis before, and we’re excited to have them back on the team!