The Nordic Council Music Prize is awarded annually by NOMUS, the Nordic Music Committee. Every two years it is awarded for a work by a living composer. In the intervening years it is awarded to a performing musician or ensemble.
The Nordic Council has four art committees: [1]
NOMUS consists of two delegates from each of the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland) and observers from the three areas with self-rule (Greenland, the Faroe Islands and the Åland Islands ). NOMUS awards grants to promote musical co-operation in the Nordic Region; subsidizes commissioned works, musical performances, seminars, conferences and educational courses; and acts as the secretariat and jury of the Nordic Council Music Prize. [2]
This prize was launched in 1965 and was originally awarded once every three years. Since 1990, however, the prize has been awarded every year. In alternate years it is awarded to a piece of music by a living Nordic composer and to a small or large musical ensemble of high artistic and technical standards. It is currently worth 350,000 Danish kroner. [3]
The winners of the Nordic Council Music Prize to date have been: [4]
The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomous areas of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. The representatives are members of parliament in their respective countries or areas and are elected by those parliaments. The Council holds ordinary sessions each year in October/November and usually one extra session per year with a specific theme. The council's official languages are Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish, though it uses only the mutually intelligible Scandinavian languages—Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish—as its working languages. These three comprise the first language of around 80% of the region's population and are learned as a second or foreign language by the remaining 20%.
The Cooperation Committee of the Nordic Workers' Movement, better known by its abbreviation SAMAK, is an alliance of social democratic parties and labour councils in the Nordic countries. SAMAK consists of all social democratic parties and trade union organisations in the Nordic countries, including in Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland. The current President of the Committee as of 2024 is Mette Frederiksen, the leader of the Social Democrats and Prime Minister of Denmark. Antti Rinne is the General Secretary, and Kjersti Stenseng the Chair of the Board.
The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth 350,000 Danish kroner (2008). Eligible works are typically novels, plays, collections of poetry, short stories or essays, or other works that were published for the first time during the last four years, or in the case of works written in Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish, within the last two years. The prize is one of the most prestigious awards that Nordic authors can win.
Leif Selim Segerstam was a Finnish conductor, composer, violinist, violist, and pianist, especially known for writing over 300 symphonies, along with other works.
Eivør Pálsdóttir, known mononymously as Eivør, is a Faroese singer-songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Syðrugøta, she had her first televised performance at the age of 13. Over the course of her decades-long career, her musical output has spanned a wide range of genres such as folk, art pop, jazz, folk rock, classical and electronica. She is the elder sister of singer Elinborg.
The Nordic House is a cultural institution in the Faroe Islands. Its aim is to support and promote Nordic and Faroese culture, locally and in the Nordic region.
Scandinavian literature or Nordic literature is the literature in the languages of the Nordic countries of Northern Europe. The Nordic countries include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Scandinavia's associated autonomous territories. The majority of these nations and regions use North Germanic languages. Although the majority of Finns speak a Uralic language, Finnish history and literature are clearly interrelated with those of both Sweden and Norway who have shared control of various areas and who have substantial Sami populations/influences.
The vocal ensemble Mpiri is a Faroese choral ensemble based in Copenhagen. The members are mostly Faroese studying or working in Copenhagen. The conductor is Gorm Larsen.
The Nordic Council Film Prize is an annual film prize administered by the Nordic Council. The Nordisk Film & TV Fond is the funding body that administers the prize.
Foreningen Norden, Föreningen Norden (Swedish), Norræna félagið (Icelandic), Norrøna Felagið (Faroese), Peqatigiiffik Nunat Avannarliit (Greenlandic) and Pohjola-Norden (Finnish), The Norden Associations, sometimes referred to as The Nordic Associations are non-governmental organisations in the Nordic countries promoting civil cooperation between the Nordic countries. Established since 1919, there are Norden Associations in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland. Since 1965 these national branches are grouped in an umbrella organisation Foreningene Nordens Forbund (FNF), The Confederation of Norden Associations. The co-operation between the Nordic countries include projects such as Nordjobb, Nordic Library Week and Norden at the Cinema.
Karin Rehnqvist is a Swedish composer and conductor of classical music. She composes chamber music, orchestral works, music for the stage, and particularly vocal music, incorporating elements of folk music such as the vocal technique of Kulning. In 2009 she was appointed the first female professor of composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.
The Nordic countries are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden; the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland; and the autonomous region of Åland.
Sampo Haapamäki is a Finnish composer. He has won several international composition competitions.
Rakel Helmsdal is a Faroese author and artist. She writes novels, short stories, plays, poems for all age groups, as well as being a visual artist who illustrates some her books. She is the current chair person for the Association of Writers of the Faroe Islands.
West Nordic Council's Children and Youth Literature Prize is a literary award, which was established in 2002 by the West Nordic Council. The prize is awarded every second year at the annual meeting of the West Nordic Council, normally in August. The three countries of the North West region of Northern Europe are Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. These countries nominate one literary work each. The winner gets a reward of DKK 60 000 and his or her book is translated into the other two languages of the region and into one of the Scandinavian languages: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish or Finnish, without any expenses for the winner.
The Nordic Children's Book Prize is a children's literary prize which was established in 1985 by the Nordic Association of School Librarians. The winners received an amount of money and a diploma.
Tróndur Bogason is a Faroese composer and musician. He composes classical works, but he also arranges music for pop, rock and folk artists. He is married to the Faroese singer Eivør Pálsdóttir with whom he also works; they arranged her album Room together. Bogason was educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. He has been nominated three times for the Nordic Council Music Prize and is one of the few who have received a three-year grant from Mentanargrunnur Landsins.
The Nordic Council Children and Young People's Literature Prize is awarded for a work of children's or young adult literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries. It was established by the Nordic Council in 2012 after an initiative by ministers of culture in the Nordic countries. The prize was first awarded on 30 October 2013.
The Nordic Council Environment Prize is awarded each year to a Nordic company, organization, or individual to recognize "exemplary efforts to integrate respect for the environment into their business or work or for some other form of extraordinary initiative on behalf of the environment". The nominees and winner are chosen by a 13-person committee consisting of two representatives each from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, as well as one each from the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. The first prize was awarded in 1995. Since 2005, the committee has chosen a theme each year for the nominations and award.
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