Nordic Orchestra Conference 2026

We are pleased to invite you to this year’s Nordic Orchestra Conference. The conference is hosted by Kilden Performing Arts Centre in collaboration with the Association of Norwegian Theatres and Orchestras.

Practical information:

Time: Wednesday 23rd – Friday 25^th September 2026, lunch-to-lunch
Place: Kilden Performing Arts Center, Kristiansand, Norway
Hotel: Rooms have been reserved at Clarion Hotel Ernst. Book hotel room here for NOK 977,- per night before the 21st of May to be guaranteed a room.
Conference fee: 580 Euro
Early Bird (before the 21st of May): 495 EUR

Programme

Wednesday 23rd of September

11:00-12:00 Registration and coffee

12:00-13:00 Lunch

13:00-13:15 Welcome
Pål Svendsberget, Managing Director, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra

13:15-16:30 The Nordic region today - Part 1

• 13:15-13:45 Culture shapes the future of the Nordics:
  Kristin Danielsen, Chief Executive, The Nordic Culture Fund

Presentation of this year’s collaborative project between Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and Kunstsilo. The session begins in the concert hall and concludes in the S-lab at Kunstsilo.

15:30-17:00 Inclusion, diversity and mental health

• 15:30-16:05 Kilden Dialouge: The Concert Hall as an Extended Therapeutic Space:
  Marie T. Sørensen (Head of Communications, Kilden), Audhild Wessman (Kilden), Anette Olsen, Head of the Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (Sørlandet Hospital), Eva Mari Andreassen (Research Lead, Kilden
• 16:05-16:30 Case studies from Nordic countries
• 16:30-17:00 «Market place» and mingling

17:00-17:30 Kilden’s Digital Initiative - Tour and presentation
Øystein Nerland Flemmen, Producer and David Holme, Media Producer, Kilden
Presentation in the concert hall of the technical work related to Nordic Art Symphony. This will be followed by an introduction to Kilden Digital and its work with care centres, as well as a tour of the studio.

19:00 Aperitif

19:30 Conference dinner, Frihavn Restaurant, Kilden

Thursday 24th of September

08:30-09:00 Coffee

09:00-12:00 The Voice of the Art Institution - Part 1

• 09:00-09:30 The role of orchestras in war and peace: Music as Preparedness
  (speaker tbc.)
• 09:30-10:00 Programming, Public Responsibility and Institutional Resilience
  Keynote by Jesus Herrera, artistic director London Philharmonic Orchestra
• 10:00-10:30 Programming in a Time of Major Change
  (speaker tbc.)
• 10:30-11:00 Break
• 11:00-12:00 Group work followed by plenary session

11.00-12.00 Parallel session: communications

12:00-13:00 Lunch

13:00-14:20 The Nordic region today - Part 2

• 13:00-13:30 Reframing Nordic Identity: Frank Jørstad, artistic and managing director, Kvääniteatteri
• 13:30-14:00 From Words to Action – Reconciliation Work in the Nordic Region
• 14:00-14:20 Panel Discussion: Nordic Perspectives
  
  

14:20-14:40 Break

14:40-14:55 Artistic Interlude

14:55-15.20 The Voice of the Art Institution - Part 2

Institutions in Changing Times
Marte Cecilie Wilhelmsen Solheim, Vice-Rector for Innovation and
Society, University of Stavanger

15:20-15:30 Pretalk
Pål Svendsberget, Managing Director, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra

17:30-19:30 Dinner

Kl. 20.00 Concert: Still life - A Nordic Art Symphony Project
Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, Eivind Gullberg-Jensen, conductor,
Mari Eriksmoen, soprano

Friday 25th of September

09:30-10:00 Coffee

10:00-10:05 Welcome and branding film from the Norwegian orchestra network for marketing and communications:
Pål Svendsberget

10:05-10:35 Group work: Collaboration Between Institutions – Who Loses and Who Wins? Using reflection starters from the reflection booklet.
We collect data from various ticketing systems for co-productions and present our findings.

10:35-11:00 Collaboration or Competition?
Eivind Gullberg-Jensen, Artistic Director of Bergen National Opera

11:00-11:30 Collaboration in the Nordic Region, examples

11:30-12:00 Panel Discussion: Nordic Perspectives on Collaboration
What are the benefits, what are the challenges, and what are the criteria
for success?

12:00-13:00 Lunch