18 October 2026 | 12:00
Nesna Church, Nordland
Free entrance
As part of Nordic Youth Music Initiative – Helgeland 2026, around 60 young musicians from Norway, Sweden and Finland come together for a lunch concert in Nesna Church.
The concert presents a lighter and more informal side of the Nordic gathering, with a programme built around folk music, pop music and ensemble repertoire performed by young musicians on strings and wind instruments.
Music across borders
At the centre of the concert is the idea of musical exchange.
During the project, participants from Norway, Sweden and Finland work with repertoire from each other’s countries and traditions. In Nesna, the young musicians share some of this material with the audience through folk music from the three countries, alongside familiar pop arrangements and music for mixed ensembles.
The result is a programme where different musical backgrounds meet in one shared concert setting.
For many of the participants, this is also an opportunity to encounter music they may not normally play in their own local ensemble or kulturskole. By learning each other’s repertoire, the musicians gain a practical experience of Nordic cultural exchange – not through lectures or presentations, but by playing together.
A Nordic meeting place for young musicians
The concert is part of the first gathering of Nordic Youth Music Initiative, an international youth music project hosted on Helgeland in 2026.
The initiative brings together young musicians, teachers, amateur performers and professional artists from the Nordic region. Throughout the gathering, participants meet through rehearsals, workshops, concerts and social activities.
The ambition is to create more than a temporary orchestra. Nordic Youth Music Initiative is designed as a meeting place where young musicians can build friendships, exchange experience and develop new connections across national borders.
The project brings together participants from cultural and educational environments in Nordland, Västerbotten and Finland and is part of NordSync’s wider work to strengthen cooperation between young musicians, kulturskoler, voluntary organisations and professional cultural environments.
From rehearsals to the concert in Nesna
During the days leading up to the lunch concert, the participants work together in rehearsals and workshops in different ensemble formats.
The Nesna programme gives them an opportunity to present some of this work in an open and accessible concert format.
Unlike the large orchestral production around Nordisk Suite, the lunch concert focuses on smaller musical forms and repertoire that the young participants can share directly with one another. Folk melodies, pop music and ensemble arrangements create a programme with room for different instruments, traditions and levels of experience.
The concert is suitable for audiences of all ages and offers a rare opportunity to hear a large group of young musicians from three Nordic countries performing together in Nesna.
Part of Nordic Youth Music Initiative – Helgeland 2026
The lunch concert is one of several public events connected to Nordic Youth Music Initiative – Helgeland 2026 / Nordisk orkesterløft for ungdom på Helgeland.
The project is organised through cooperation between NordSync Project, Rødøy Orkesterforening, local partners in Nordland and partner organisations in Sweden and Finland.
Together, the partners are creating a platform where young musicians can meet across borders, learn from one another and experience what it means to become part of a wider Nordic musical community.
Lunch Concert – Nordic Youth Music Initiative
Sunday 18 October 2026
12:00
Nesna Church
Free entrance
