Borealis Receives the Classical:NEXT Innovation Award

Award recipients (from left): Borealis, SOAVE (Stage Orchestra Audio Video Experience), and Playing with Fire: An Immersive Odyssey, together with representatives from Classical:NEXT. Photo: Christoph Mangler, taken at Classical:NEXT 2026.

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 shortlisted for the Innovation Award 2026 Classical:NEXT

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.

Borealis Listening Club is back in 2026!

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?

Read more about Jaleh and her project

Book now!

You can now book your sauna experiences during Borealis at laugaren.no!

During Borealis, Finnish sauna owner, architect and musician Tuomas Toivonen takes residence at Bergen’s unique floating sauna  Laugaren. Transforming the sauna itself into an ambient sonic instrument he creates a dynamic sonic layer that emanates from the sauna building itself.

Sonic Sauna can be experienced at all times the sauna is open during the festival. In addition, there are some extra unique sessions with Tuomas on the programme.

Book your sauna experience!

Full Programme out now!

Borealis returns to Bergen, Norway 13–17 March with five full days of concerts and sound installations, family events and conversations, exploring exciting new musical expressions from across Norway, Sápmi and the world! For the 21st edition of Borealis, the festival dedicates half of its programming to exploring the interaction of Sámi history, identity and erasure with experimental sound, music and listening practices. Led by Sámi artist and musician and Borealis Artist in Residence 2022–2024 Elina Waage Mikalsen, our 2024 festival will present a diverse range of Sámi artists who work experimentally with sound and music.

Check out the programme

Borealis Listening Club X Laugaren

Welcome to a truly unique edition of the Borealis Listening Club at Laugaren! We usually gather at Studio 207, but in November, we are combining listening with a sauna experience at Laugaren – Bergen’s new floating cultural arena and meeting place! Please bring your swimwear and bathrobe and join us in the warmth on this Wednesday evening – we’ll provide refreshments. The listening will take place in a spacious room with seating for about 20 people on stools and benches, and it will be combined with sessions inside the sauna itself, right next door. Heat, the sea, music, and beautiful surroundings create the perfect setting for a Borealis Listening Club that’s a bit out of the ordinary.

The club is usually free, but this time, you’ll need to purchase a ticket. The proceeds will exclusively support the running of Laugaren. There are very limited spots, so be quick!

Wednesday 29 November, 19.00–20.30 in Laugaren (the sauna is docked by USF Hallen)

SOLD OUT!

Podcast on ‘Hungry Listening’

In episode 26 of Darmstadt’s podcast ON AIR, Peter Meanwell interviews artist, curator, and author Dylan Robinson about his book Hungry Listening: Resonant Theory for Indigenous Sound Studies. The book is a sharp critique of colonial assimilation practices in the classical music world and has been a key text for Meanwell and Borealis in their collaboration with Elina Waage Mikalsen.

Listen here

Join our festival team!

Several payed part-time positions are now opening up in Borealis! We have a team of six people working throughout the year, but as the festival approaches, we need more hands and energy to contribute to the realisation of the festival in March. We’re looking for a Volunteer Coordinator, Transport & Logistics Coordinator, Ticket Coordinator and Event Managers. Would you like to be part of our team?

Application deadline: Friday 20 October

Read more and apply

New Managing Director of Borealis: Agnes Hvizdalek

We are thrilled to announce that Agnes Hvizdalek is our new Managing Director! Agnes was born and raised in Austria, and moved to Norway in 2008. She has a background as a performer and composer, with an educational history in cultural management and musicology both in Norway and Austria. Her previous engagement was as project manager for Art Music in the Norwegian music export organisation Music Norway. In addition, she has toured the world as a performing vocalist, with both solo projects and as part of ensembles. She knows the field of experimental music inside out, and has a broad network within Norwegian cultural life through her versatile background. Agnes will officially start on September 1st – we look forward to having her as part of the Borealis team!