IN ENGLISH
Working to bring live music to children and youth
Konserttikeskus (Concert Centre Finland) is a non-profit association established in 1963. Its aim is to arrange tours of high-quality concert programs for children in a wide variety all over Finland, mainly in public schools and kindergartens.
Concert Centre Finland arranges 3 concerts a day and many times the concerts take place in different schools. Concerts are usually held in gym halls in schools.
Are you a band from outside Finland and want to be taking music to children and young people? Read the application instructions below.
In the picture: HeartBeat Group, Denmark (2021), picture by: Ville Hautakangas
Live music for schools and kindergartens
Konserttikeskus organizes concert tours around Finland. The audience is children and young people. Konserttikeskus also creates concert productions and develops new forms and concepts for musicians to meet children and young people. In addition to concerts music related workshops are an important part of the activities. Konserttikeskus also organizes school concert festivals.
The number of organized concerts and other events varies annually between 1200 and 1700, with 150 000–200 000 children taking part in the activities of the association.
Many of our concerts take place through the Concert to every school model (more information below).
At the beginning of each year the program committee of Konserttikeskus chooses new music groups for the following school year. A producer goes through each new program together with the musicians before the tours begin. The number of programs for each season is nearly about 35 and they show a large variety in style and genre.
Konserttikeskus is funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and the Finnish Music Foundation (MES) as well as some minor sources. Konserttikeskus has an annual expenditure of about 1 000 000 EUR yearly.
Konserttikeskus has currently four full-time employees and one working part-time. Konserttikeskus employs 100–150 professional musicians annually.
Best practises and projects
Below you will find information about Konserttikeskus projects and best practices. Click + to see more.
Konserttikeskus started a new way for arranging tours ”Concert to every school” as a pilot project in 2008 following the Norwegian and Danish school concert models. All pupils of over 60 municipalities can annually enjoy a school concert at the moment, the total number being over 80 000. The state’s Finland Art Award was conferred to the project in 2009.
There are about 70 municipalities that have committed to offer a concert to all elementary school students every year.
The municipality receives concerts from Konserttikeskus in low price. The total cost is based on the total number of elementary school students in the municipality and the price per student, which is determined by the size of the visiting band.
Concert for every school tours are organized in such a way that there are three school concerts on each day of the tour. We recommend that the maximum audience per concert is 150 children.
Students as producers of the concert model involves students in the production of a school concert or other cultural event. The participant can be, for example, a primary school class.
The model involves students in the production of the concert and enables a deeper school concert experience.
The operating model can be implemented in different ways, so for example the duration of the project varies depending on chosen method. On average, the group starts working a couple of weeks before the concert.
Konserttikeskus has a handbook for the model with detailed intructions. The group can be divided into three small groups based on tasks: hosts, technique team and information team. Konserttikeskus sends key chains for staff passes and students receive a diploma for their participation.
LIVE project offers a high-quality circus, dance and theater performances for the school audiences. Project aim is to promote the accessibility of performances aimed at children. The basis for the school tours is Konserttikeskus 60 years of experience in school tours.
All selected performances can be ordered at the Konserttikeskus subsidized prices. Prices are determined by the number of performers. The performances were selected by a separate jury consisting of performing arts professionals.
The tour dates consist of two performances which can be combined with workshops if the group of performers offers them. The project involves 12 municipalities from different parts of Finland, who receive the performances free of charge. The condition for free of charge is that the municipality commits to developing its cultural education plan with the Association of Finnish Children’s Cultural Centers
The LIVE project is a joint project of Theatre Center, CircusInfo Finland, Dance Info Finland and Konserttikeskus. Project is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. Project has the aim of promoting the accessibility of performances aimed at children.
The WOW Experience (WOW) is an exciting project that takes a closer look at professional performing art experiences in a school context. Given that the artistic integrity is good, what does it take for pupils to have a meaningful experience?
The project partners represent nine organisations from four countries and come from the school and art sectors. The partners involved in WOW have all witnessed the positive impact meaningful art experiences can have on pupils. It can bring about engagement and openness about sensitive topics, trigger critical thinking and spark creativity.
WOW will result in a Best Practice Toolbox for schools and art providers and will be made available on this website at the end of the project period (autumn 2023).
More info about the project: https://www.vtfk.no/the-wow-experience/
International cooperation
Konserttikeskus is an associate member of Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI) and a member of the Nordic Network for School Concerts. The international cooperation aims to increase the quantity as well as quality of concerts for young audiences and to improve the possibilities for the exchange of concerts between the European countries/regions. A stellar example of this cooperation was during 2014–2016 JMI’s Blackboard Music Project which was supported by EU’s Culture Programme Creative Europe.
How to apply for our program?
Foreign programs are selected based on free-form applications. Our program search form is only intended for Finnish shows.
Music must have a dominant role in our concert programs. It should also be noted that most of the concerts take place in lower secondary schools (1st to 6th grade) with performing groups of 2–4 persons. You can apply to be part of the Konserttikeskus selection of concerts for the school by sending a free-form application to: konserttikeskus@konserttikeskus.fi
The new programs are selected by a program committee for the next school year. Please note that the program selections for the next school year are made during December and January.
Questions about program search? Contact:
Reijo Karvonen, artistic coordinator
tel. +358 40 593 2369
reijo.karvonen@konserttikeskus.fi
To Concert Centre performers
Below you will find information about practical arrangements and fees.
Examples of tour days
Concert Centre Finland arranges 3 concerts a day and many times the concerts take place in different schools. Concerts are usually held in gym halls in schools. In a school environment, the concert should be easily transferable.
An example of a tour day in schools:
An example of a tour day in kindergartens:
Fees
The fees vary depending on the number of performers.Travels and accommodation as well as Finnish daily allowances (48€/day) are paid in addition. Flight costs must be approved by Concert Centre.
Concert Centre confirms the tours by email. Our producers will send a detailed tour plan before the tour.
Fee/performer (€) for the season 2022–2023 (including holiday compensation 9%):
| performers | 1 concert | 1 day = 3 concerts |
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