2024 Faroe Islands

Jun 22, 2024 – Jun 30, 2024
Tórshavn, Rituvík, Sandur, Gjógv, Fuglafjørður, Klaksvík, Øravík, Nólsoy

Festival info

Start: Jun 22, 2024

End: Jun 30, 2024

Locations: Tórshavn, Rituvík, Sandur, Gjógv, Fuglafjørður, Klaksvík, Øravík, Nólsoy

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From Contemporaneous Reports

“Føroysku fyriskipararnir fingu 500 verk at velja úr, og 140 verk eru vald úr rúgvuni. Hesi verða framførd á 30 konsertum.”

[“The Faroese organizers were given 500 works to choose from, and 140 works have been selected from the lot. These will be performed in 30 concerts.”]

–Nanný Toftegaard, “Altjóða tónleikafestivalur til Føroyar,”
published on the webzine in.fo on 20 June 2024 [in Faroese, English translation via tradukka.com].

“It would be a mistake to think of this 11-day music marathon as an abstract contemporary music festival; everything here has its own shape and feel, given by the welcoming nature, tolerance, quirky humour and, in a way, provincialism of the Faroese. Provincialism is also about the good things, such as pride in one’s music, composers and players, because they belong to THEIR island.” 

–Anna Veismane, “Between Norway and Iceland, Tonality and Atonality,”
published on the ISCM Website, 24 April 2025.

“[I]t’s possible to think of WNMD as a portrait of the current state of global contemporary music. Yet that portrait is filtered by each nation hosting the festival, since they decide the shortlist of works to be performed from all of those submitted. So perhaps the best way to approach this year’s festival is to think of it as a portrait of contemporary music from the unique perspective of the Faroe Islands. What this means, of course, is that to make sense of that portrait it’s necessary to try to make sense of the attitude and outlook that underpin Faroese music-making and compositional thought. 

…

“It seems to me that a culture shock … is not merely appropriate for an occasion like the World New Music Days, but entirely inevitable, due to the way global ideas and thinking are brought together. This is surely an integral part of what ISCM is seeking to foster, smashing diverse, disjunct musical conceptions and thought processes together in a hadron collider-like festival, hopefully leading to unexpected new discoveries and fresh insights.” 

–Simon Cummings, “World New Music Days 2024, Faroe Islands (Part One),”
published on the blog 5against4 on 5 July 2024.

“It was heartwarming to see the locals attending the concert … After all, one of music’s biggest roles is its connection to people!”

–Trudy Chan, “The Faroese Daily Dish,” published on the ISCM Website, 28 April 2025.

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For additional information, visit the festival website at: www.wnmd2024.fo/.
Also, watch/listen to streams of concerts during the festival at: vimeo.com/user219745289.

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