Léonie Sonning Music Foundation Awards Talent Prizes to ten groundbreaking young artists
Each of the ten recipients will receive DKK 100,000 from the Léonie Sonning Music Foundation. Together, they represent a diverse group of young musicians, several of whom are already challenging the traditional boundaries of classical music.
The quality of tomorrow’s classical music scene depends on the talents being nurtured today. Since 1967, the Léonie Sonning Music Foundation has acted on this recognition by awarding its highly coveted talent prizes each year.
Unlike many other grants that performing artists must apply for, the foundation’s board of directors independently selects the ten recipients, each of whom receives DKK 100,000.
Past recipients include names that have gone on to become some of the most respected figures in classical music. Among them are conductors Esa-Pekka Salonen and Michael Schønwandt, composer Bent Sørensen, and trombonist Christian Lindberg.
Icelandic and Norwegian talents
As in previous years, the prizes may also be awarded to artists who are not Danish,
provided they are active in Denmark and contribute to the cultivation of the country’s musical talent pool. This year’s recipients include seven Danish musicians and a Danish piano trio, as well as one Icelandic and one Norwegian artist.
A celebration of innovation and creativity
The group of recipients is notably diverse, with several artists actively working to redefine the classical music landscape.
Two recipients, for example, combine multiple musical disciplines: Johanne Sofie Bech Madsen both sings and conducts, while Josefine Weber Hansen, in addition to composing, performs using both her voice and viola.
Sophie Søs Meyer moves between the folk music traditions of Fanø and Javanese gamelan. Sara Amalie Heise is not only a mezzo-soprano but also a music educator. Benjamin Arnika Skydsgaard blends music with philosophical storytelling, while Laura Helene Hansen works to make opera more accessible to broader audiences.
Esben Tange, chairman of the Léonie Sonning Music Foundation, has the following to say about this year’s ten talent award recipients: “It is clearer than ever before that the young talents are bursting with the desire to innovate. They have all come a long way in what you might call their classic work. But there is also a particularly strong ability and will to develop the expression of classical music – both in form and content. This is wonderful to experience, which is why it is a great pleasure to present the awards to these ten talents in particular. We look forward to seeing where they will take classical music in the coming years.”