Sociomusicology: Music News from Finland

9/7/08

Music News from Finland

Below are three rather important news stories:

(1) Nokia, Finland’s largest company (and the world’s largest mobile phone maker), has announced that it will offer free and unlimited music downloads as well as discounts on its latest mobile phones. This unprecedented development is likely to have a significant impact on the global music industry.

http://web20.telecomtv.com/pages/?newsid=43769&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10&view=news

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSL161980820081002

(2) The new Helsinki Music Centre has now received a commitment of additional support from philanthropic foundations (millions of Euros) and construction is proceeding as scheduled at a prominent site across the street from Finland’s House of Parliament. Starting in 2011, the Sibelius Academy will be housed in the new centre, and the space will also be used for concerts of both the Finnish Radio Orchestra and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

http://yle.fi/news/id87334.html

(3) The Sibelius Academy has entered into a unique partnership with El Sistema, Venezuela’s renowned music education system.

http://www.siba.fi/en/?id=26888

These are exciting times in Finland, a nation that is notable for both music and education. Here is a link to my new homepage at the Sibelius Academy Music Education Department:

http://dept.siba.fi/muka/fin/index.php?pid=1439

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Welcome to Sociomusicology

For over 15 years (since 2007), this website has offered musings on contemporary society and its music by David G. Hebert, PhD. He is a sociomusicologist specializing in global music education who has held academic positions with universities on five continents. Dr. Hebert is now a tenured full Professor with Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen. There he leads the Grieg Academy Music Education (GAME) research group and manages the multinational government-funded Nordic Network for Music Education, which organizes annual intensive Master courses and exchange of teachers and students across eight countries. He is also an Affiliated Professor with University of the Faroe Islands and an Honorary Professor in China with the Education University of Hong Kong.

Professor Hebert's research applies an international-comparative perspective to issues of pluralism, identity, and cultural relevance in music education, as well as processes by which new music traditions emerge and change - both sonically and socially - as they are adopted into institutions. Born in the 1970s, he is among the most widely-published and globally-active music scholars of his generation (h-index:20; i10-index:30), with professional activities in an average of 8 countries per year across the past decade (2008-2020).