The powers that be in Turku have made a historical cultural decision. A new concert hall is to be built in Turku. Titled Harmonia, its design has already attracted appreciative international attention. The new concert hall, the Museum of History and the Future and Art House Turku will ensure prominence on the global cultural map for Turku even before the buildings are completed and inaugurated, besides which we are already in the run-up to the 800th anniversary of the City of Turku in 2029.
Following the bold decision to go ahead, a closer look must be taken at the operating concept and funding structure of the new concert hall. The building that will emerge beside Aurajoki river will be architecturally and acoustically of a high quality, and it is intended to be attractive to international top performers and visitors alike. Achieving an international level of quality requires hard work and more than just bricks and mortar. The most sought-after artists can take their pick among the leading venues and festivals of the world, and competition for booking them is fierce. We need to further strengthen our international networks and establish direct contacts in order to be able to fully leverage the potential of the new concert hall.
The Turku Music Festival invests in a high-calibre international profile as per its strategy. We have managed to bring many wonderful international performers to Turku. The new concert hall will give us even more potential to pursue our strategy, assuming that this is considered when laying out the operational concept of the venue. Turku has the capacity to become a cultural hub of greater significance than the size of the city might indicate.
At the same time, we must be realistic about the facts of our geographical location and audience potential. For the new venue to run sustainably around the year, it must be made available to multiple operators. The Turku Philharmonic will obviously be the principal resident, but it must be possible to stage opera performances and to offer a venue for genres as diverse as jazz, dance, choral music, popular music and other types of popular culture – and indeed anything that may arise on Turku’s rich cultural scene to attract audiences. Conferences and corporate events are also a good fit for a building intended to embody the dynamic and innovative nature of the city. Turku has excellent accommodation and restaurant services and a wonderful archipelago to add to its desirability.
A concert hall is nothing without paying customers, i.e. audiences. The venue must feel accessible to every Turku resident, and visitors from elsewhere must find an offering and services of the highest possible quality. A concert experience is not limited to the concert itself – it includes arrival to and departure from the venue, whether by public or private transport. Cloakrooms, box office, café and restaurant all form part of the overall experience of which the performance on stage is a major part, but only a part.
With the new venue, we can step up our efforts to cater to corporate clients and to build partnerships. This is a fundraising aspect which will lay the groundwork for making international artist visits possible. Companies will be able to offer their guests memorable experiences in Turku, and this will in turn strengthen the image of the city as a whole.
There have been public concerts in Turku since the 19th century, and the basic form of the concept has not changed very much. I believe that audiences in the future will increasingly want to have other things augmenting their concert experience, and my expectation is that the new concert hall will facilitate creative collaborations for instance with gaming operators and other innovative ways of rethinking cultural events.
Liisa Ketomäki
Managing Director
Turku Music Festival
Originally published in Turun Sanomat 2022.
