For the third episode of our podcast, Borealis Samtale, you can hear composer, trombonist and academic George Lewis in conversation with Borealis Artistic Director Peter Meanwell, recorded at the festival earlier this year.
Listen to Borealis Samtale with George Lewis on our SoundCloud – or wherever you get your podcasts…
For this month’s Borealis Listening Club we’re thinking about Care – for each other, for ourselves – and how this comes across in different music we listen to. On the playlist: Jenny Gräf Sheppard gives electric guitars to older women with Alzheimer’s; Abdu Ali wants to be free with his body; and Cassandra Miller thinks about healing and gratitude through her new string quartet with voice in our “Long Listen”.
Join us in Studio 207, Wednesday 30th of September, 20–22 or via our Facebook page for the live stream.
Treat yourself and take a trip to the beautiful small town of Øystese by the Hardanger Fjord to experience new music by four emerging composers, Friday the 18th of September 19.00!
Aslak Bjørge Hermstad, Eva Pfitzenmaier, Hilde Annine Hasselberg and Steinar Yggeseth wrote new pieces for the trio YrrY as part of our Mentor Programme Borealis Ung Komponist. Their music premiered at Borealis 2020 and is now travelling to Øystese for an evening concert at Kunsthuset Kabuso where the yearly art exhibition Vestlandsutstillingen is open.
Fortunately August will not be completely without live events, and so do use Bergen’s cultural spaces – keeping a safe distance.
If you’re in Bergen make sure to catch the one night festival Jazzknappleik at USF Verftet, Friday 17.08, 20.00 featuring local stars Øyvind Torvund and Alwynne Pritchard on stage. If you prefer staying in why not watch the highly acclaimed documentary I am not your negro by Raoul Peck on NRK which takes its inspiration from an unfinished script by author James Baldwin. And for a deep listen check out Bergen local Inish Hedén’s new techno mix featuring a recording of F*Choir from Borealis 2020.
In June we launched our very own Podcast series – Borealis Samtale! Every month we’ll release a new episode, and it’s a deep dive into the Borealis conversations archive.
This month we’ve found a gem from our 2016 festival called Infrasonic: the politics, production and performance of electronic music where you’ll hear curator Louis Moreno, musician Jlin, curator and musician Paul Purgas and Will & Freya from the duo Yeah You discussing the inspirations, strategies and infrastructures that form both the inside and the outside of their creative processes. LISTEN NOW!
Borealis Listening Club returns for Season 5 asking how music deals with some of the most urgent states of being today. From Protest to Isolation to Care, each month we’ll be picking records, eating popcorn, and listening together. For Season 5 we’ll be moving to our new space, Studio 207, at Strandgaten 207 on the last Wednesdays of the month, and if you want to suggest music to listen to be sure to get in touch on email blc@borealisfestival.no.
The theme for our first gathering of the autumn is: Protest. Wednesday 26th of August 20.00–22.00 – Studio 207
From music recorded in the underground American subway systems by Matana Roberts in solidarity with the Standing Rock protests, to feminist protest punk performed at street demonstrations by Deli Girls, we’ll be exploring different modes of politics and music this time. Each month we’ll also have a “deep listen” and for Protest we’ll be spending time with the String Quartets of American composer Wadada Leo Smith.
This month we recommend something to read and listen to in the summer sun that gives insight into curatorial pratice and conversational techniques.
George Lewis has written a great essay published in the journal On Curating looking at the decolonising of curatorial practice in contemporary music. Going home this summer to see family and old friends? Perhaps you have some difficult conversations in store in light of the anti-racist movement? We recommend this five part podcast series by occupational therapist and musician Georgia Twigg called How To Talk To People You Disagree With – a helping hand for those difficult conversation
We’re looking for people who are interested in music, art, theater and other artistic expressions, and who are looking for experience in cultural work and festival production. There are lots of tasks that need solving for Borealis to happen and our interns get a wide range of experiences in different areas. We’re looking for people that will follow our Heads of Communication, Production and Volunteer Coordination. Through this 6 month part-time internship you’ll get a unique look into the inner life of a music festival and invaluable work experience in the cultural field.
We’re very happy to announce the new participants in the fourth round of our mentor programme Borealis Ung Komponist! This year saw a doubling of applicants from the year before and we’re thrilled and proud to be able to deliver a mentor programme bringing together international mentors with emerging local composers and adventurous musicians.
Read more about our four composers here
This year’s participants are: Agnes Hvizdalek, Mirte Bogaert, Tord Kalvenes and Vegar Guleng – a bouquet of exciting new compositional voices all with musical investments in Bergen and Western Norway. With diverse backgrounds spanning composition and improvisation, contemporary dance and choral music this will be an exciting group to follow for the next 8 months.
The four participants will be writing music for renowned early music ensemble Currentes to perform at Borealis 2021, and from the autumn will be guided by a team of international renowned mentors: Alwynne Pritchard (UK/NO), Raven Chacon (US) and Øyvind Torvund (NO).
Borealis Samtale is our new podcast diving in to the archive of conversations with composers, artists and musicians recorded at the festival starting 2015 – spanning the musical, social and political. We can’t wait to share all this wonderful insights into the work and thoughts of some of our favourite composers, musicians, curators and thinkers. We’ll be releasing an episode per month – you can find it on our Soundcloud or wherever you find you podcasts.
Our first episode features a conversation between British performer Elaine Mitchener and Dr. Temi Odumosu, Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at Malmö University in Sweden following the Scandinavian premiere of Elaine’s work SWEET TOOTH at Borealis 2020. They discuss how music can relate to the history of the international enslavement trade, and the way art can function to evoke and heal this trauma.