Turku Music Festival joins new music centre as major partner – Strategic partnership of Turku City Theatre and Turku Music Festival announced

On 27 Aug 2024, the Turku Music Festival Foundation and the Turku City Theatre signed a letter of intent concerning strategic partnership at the Fuuga music centre to be inaugurated in 2026. The practical operations and administration of the music centre will be managed by the company running the City Theatre, Turun Kaupunginteatteri Oy.

“We are envisioning a new cultural nexus on the platform business model. We are engaging in partnerships to build a community that will fill the music centre with content all year, around the core programme provided by the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra. A broad range of operators can attract a wide variety of audiences to this new cultural venue on the river,” says Arto Valkama, CEO of Turun Kaupunginteatteri Oy, who is overseeing preparations for the concept.

It was clear from the start that the music centre will house the Turku Philharmonic, but the centre will offer a high-tech platform for other musical bodies as well. Bringing the Turku Music Festival Foundation on board as a partner was only natural, as it is intended that the music centre should house a wide range of musical events of a high international calibre. The Festival has extensive experience and wide-ranging networks in and beyond Finland. The purpose of the partnership, which will be launched in 2026, is to produce about 10 concerts and guest appearances at the new music centre each year.

“The Turku Music Festival has for years striven to create opera and classical music productions attracting international interest to raise the cultural profile of the region and to bring international culture tourists to Turku. Fuuga will offer vastly better potential for creating such productions, and we want to work with the Turku City Theatre to bring ambitious content to the new music centre all year round. This is a major step for us, and we are really happy to be able to contribute to the planning process with theatre professionals,” says Liisa Ketomäki, current Managing Director of the Turku Music Festival, who will be stepping down at the end of August.

The role of the Turku Music Festival Foundation will be specifically to strengthen and develop the international profile of the new music centre by bringing in prominent international orchestras and opera productions alongside other internationally interesting concerts and events. The Festival has years of experience in negotiating with international performers and in producing concerts in a financially sustainable way.

Further information

Arto Valkama
CEO
Turun Kaupunginteatteri oy 
040 591 5442 
arto.valkama@tkteatteri.fi 

Liisa Ketomäki 
Managing Director
Turku Music Festival Foundation
040 740 6200 
liisa.ketomaki@turkumusicfestival.fi