Baltic Contemporary Network Meets in Riga to Advance Regional Collaboration

On December 16th, the Baltic Contemporary Network gathered in the Latvian Composers Union in Riga, for a strategic meeting focused on fostering collaboration and advancing contemporary art music initiatives throughout the Baltic region and beyond.

The agenda included a review of past events, such as the Baltic Music Days 2024 “Umwelt” in Tartu and the “New Baltic Sounds” concert featured in the Göteborg Art Sounds (GAS) festival program.

Future activity planning involved organising the upcoming Baltic Music Days 2025, which this year takes place in Vilnius, Lithuania (October, 2025) as well as Latvian New Music Days (May 7–10, 2025) and Estonian Music Days "SADA/100" (April 25–May 4,2025). The Estonian Music Days will celebrate the centenary of the Estonian Composers Union.

Discussions emphasized project planning, strengthening existing partnerships, exploring new collaborations, and devising sustainable funding strategies. The challenges of commissioning new music were also a key topic, with an in-depth examination of current practices in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, particularly regarding funding models and composer fee policies.

The network committed to collaborating closely to evaluate the status of composers across the Baltic states and to promote fair practices within the contemporary art music sector.

In the photo (from left): Anna Veismane, Mykolas Natalevičius, Krists Auznieks, Märt-Matis Lill, Taavi Hark, Mari-Liis Rebane, Iti Teder and Rolands Kronlaks.