Partners & People

Meet the people of Songs of Travel and the four classical music festivals from Holland, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden, along with the Austrian boutique game development studio, partnering for this project.

Cellissimo / Music for Galway
18 – 26 May, 2024
Proudly heading into its 42nd International Concert Season, MfG is a leader in classical music development in Ireland. We partner with organisations on local, national and international levels to programme an annual series of concerts, artistically unique festivals, and provide unparalleled experiences for artists and audiences. We collaborate with major orchestras, choirs, ensembles and soloists, and we reach out to new audiences. With the University of Galway, we provide bespoke professional development for music students in Galway. As well as our regular concert season, we present the annual Midwinter Festival in January and now newly Cellissimo, an 8-day International Cello Triennial Cello Festival on the Edge of Europe.
musicforgalway.ie/cellissimo
Fairplay Chamber Music
June 14–18, 2024
FCM was established in 2017 as Järna Festival Academy, 2023 they changed name to Fairplay Chamber Music. FCM is a non-profit organization which produces near-zero-emissions chamber music festivals and summer academies. The festival takes place every June/July in Ytterjärna and includes around 20 concerts and performances where professional musicians and students perform together. FCM strives to be a positive and progressive force to make society a better place and it aligns itself with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Every decision at JFA is taken with regard to impact on the environment e.g. all festival attendees may only cause minimal carbon dioxide emissions (no flying or fossil fuel travel).
fairplaychambermusic.com
Valdres Sommersymfoni/NRKM
June 21–25, 2024
VS has established itself as one of the most exciting classical music festivals in Norway and presents some of the leading soloists from all over the world. The international chamber music festival offers concerts and events at about 15 locations throughout Valdres whilst 300 young musicians attend masterclasses and workshops. The festival attracts around 9,000 visitors every year and its audience meet world-renowned musicians in spectacular surroundings. In 2021, the festival started a collaboration with Fairplay Chamber Music in Sweden, launching a green profile making VS the first chamber music festival in Norway working actively towards becoming a zero-carbon-emission-festival. VS’s courses are a part of the Norwegian resource center for classical music (NRKM).
sommersymfoni.no
Festival Piano Biënnale/
Keys to Music Foundation
March 26 – April 6, 2025
Piano Biënnale is a festival with its first edition in 2021, founded by Keys to Music Foundation (2016), as an artistic platform in two cities in The Netherlands to create a musical playground. On this playground, high quality music performance, musical education, and innovative artistic and interdisciplinary projects are presented. The foundation aims to root deeply in the existing artistic, educational, and business environment of the region and internationally acclaimed artists are invited to inspire the audience and to connect with local and future artists. In Piano Biënnale 2025 the universal theme of Songs of Travel aims to connect our mission to our beliefs and steers us to organize our festival in a sustainable way.
pianobiennale.com
Causa Creations
is a boutique game development studio located in Vienna, Austria. Originally established in 2014, the independent and award-winning company is currently helmed by Georg Hobmeier, Ben Wahl, Brian Main, and Christian Knapp. CC’s multi-disciplinary team of seasoned developers, artists, and designers is dedicated to crafting fully rounded experiences that not only entertain but engage and inform audiences. CC see games as meaningful, enriching experiences that can connect us, challenge our perceptions, and give insights into the world around us. CC aim to push the boundaries of what games can do through cutting edge innovation and human-centred design.
causacreations.net
Photo by
Andreas Teerlak
Anna Lardi
CEO
Music for Galway
”Developing the Songs of Travel (SOT) project has been one of the most rewarding experiences professionally and the Creative Europe funding scheme has been transformative for Music for Galway. I am continuously amazed at what we are able to achieve, while working ”closely from afar” with our partners. SOT has proven to be both artistically exciting, and increasingly, of great importance socially. MfG is growing in experience, in size, and all of us are growing as human beings.”
Anna Lardi is CEO of Music for Galway where she has been since 2003, and in a key leadership role since 2006. Anna steered the company through the challenges of recession and the changeover from its first paid former artistic director to the current one at the start of 2013. In close collaboration with the artistic director Finghin Collins and associate AD Mark Duley, she devised and oversaw SoundScapes, the MfG programme for Galway 2020, and co-created Cellissimo, out of which came the basic concept for SOT. Anna was born in Switzerland. In 2022, she took a sabbatical and walked from 'Home to Home', from Galway to Chur (Switzerland). The effects of this journey continue to resonate in her life.
Photo by
Andreas Teerlak
Finghin Collins
Artistic Director
Cellissimo
”Having happily travelled around the world for three decades performing concerts, it is only in the last five years that I have become fully aware of the damage we are doing to our planet by hopping on planes constantly. This project is the ideal way for me to reflect on these matters and seek to make moderate and gradual adjustments to my own travel-related decisions.”
Irish pianist Finghin Collins won the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Switzerland in 1999. Since then his international career has taken him all over the world. He has been Artistic Director of the New Ross Piano Festival since 2006, and Artistic Director of Music for Galway since 2013. From 2023 he is Artistic Director of the Dublin International Piano Competition. In 2017, the National University of Ireland conferred on him an honorary Degree of Doctor of Music, in recognition of his outstanding achievements.www.finghincollins.com
Photo by
Andreas Teerlak
Peter Friis Johanssonn
Founder and Artistic Director
Fairplay Chamber Music
The Swedish pianist Peter Friis Johansson is known for his fiery performances, nuanced approach, and his insightful programming. He has earned international acclaim through his performances with leading ensembles and his prize-winning successes at numerous international piano competitions. Peter is also active as an entrepreneur and as a teacher. He has previously given lectures in the history of ideas and rhetoric and he regularly gives master classes at music conservatories in Sweden and abroad.
Photo by
Andreas Teerlak
Jakob Koranyi
Founder and Artistic Director
Fairplay Chamber Music
The Swedish cellist Jakob Koranyi is a professor of cello at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where he also teaches a course in sustainable music life. He is actively looking for ways where music can be a positive force for the climate and environment. Having toured the world extensively, in 2019 Koranyi stopped accepting engagements that require fossil fuelled transportation.
Photo by
Andreas Teerlak
Magda Boreson
Producer
Fairplay Chamber Music
Magda Boreson has a bachelor dergree in classical cello from ArtEZ University of Arts in Zwolle, The Netherlands. Thereafter she studied cultural project management at Stockholm University and now works mainly as a producer for concerts and cultural projects. Magda has also studied urban planning with a special interest in sustainable cities and the role of culture in society. Magda also works as a producer for the baroque orchestra Rebaroque and the festival Gränslandet.
Photo by
Andreas Teerlak
Guro Kleven Hagen
Artistic Director
Valdres Summer Symphony
”We think that everyone has the responsibility to take action in drastically reducing one’s climate impact, and we need the numbers, tools and examples on how to do it. SOT is a project aiming to research and improve the way our festivals can reach our 0-carbon-emission goals, and hopefully inspire other classical festivals and concert organizers to do the same!”
The Norwegian violinist Guro Kleven Hagen is one of the most exciting Scandinavian musicians. Since 2014, Guro has been Artistic Director of Valdres Sommersymfoni, and in 2018 she was appointed 1st concertmaster of the Norwegian Opera Orchestra. Guro also has a degree in primary/secondary teaching from Oslo Metropolitan University.
Photo by
Andreas Teerlak
Mona Kleven
Director
Valdres Summer Symphony
”If we all pull in the same direction, we believe this can make a big difference. Someone has to step forward and show that it is possible. The SOT project wants to contribute to the success of this work.”
Mona Kleven is educated at the Grieg Academy in Bergen and has been director of NRKM since 2013. She also has several years as principal of the music and culture school, and as a conductor and teacher.
Photo by
Andreas Teerlak
Daria van den Bercken
Founder
Keys to Music Foundation
”I love promoting fairly unknown classical music by composers such as Handel, Bach, Mathilde Wantenaar. First you have to look at the character of the music itself to solve the puzzle how to reach a new audience, not at concert formats. I am being fully aware of the chaotic and challenging time for humanity and cultural heritage we’re in and am looking for ways to connect the music to our life now.”
Dutch pianist Daria van den Bercken has made herself heard on the world piano stage in inimitable ways through unique artistic projects and as a soloist in concert halls around the world. In 2016 she founded the Keys to Music Foundation to connect with other creative artists and partners. A few years later the foundation started Piano Biennale. The first festival, themed “Free the piano”, about ground-breaking moments in piano music, was held in 2023 and was praised by both audiences and critics alike with 5-star reviews.
Photo by
Andreas Teerlak
Norbert Kögging
Business leader
Keys to Music Foundation

”This new role gives me the opportunity to discover the world of classical music. I’m privileged to be closely involved in the development of the Keys to Music Foundation to its full potential; a young and very promising organization full of energy and opportunity.”
In June 2023 Norbert joined the Keys to Music family as Business leader. Over the last 15 years Norbert was involved in the startup and development of several musical organizations in the Netherlands, such as JazzFest Amsterdam, Jazz Maastricht and JazzOut Fest Limburg. Over the years Norbert developed as a versatile entrepreneur in music. Creativity is the binding factor between his love for music on the one hand and his passion for developing cultural organizations and projects on the other.
Photo by
Andreas Teerlak
Ben Wahl
Project Lead
Causa Creations
Ben is a non-binary multimedia artist and co-founder of Causa Creations based in Vienna. They graduated with distinction from University of Arts and Design Linz under Vice-chancellor Univ.Prof. Mag.art Brigitte Vasicek. Ben specializes in mixed reality games, 3D-art and art direction as well as focusses their work on the topics surrounding identity. Ben was also former lector for the Virtual Reality Masterclass at University of Applied sciences St. Pölten.