On January 1, 2025, M.A. Kerttu Piirto will start as Executive Director of the Time of Music festival and its background association, Viitasaari Kesäakatemia ry. Time of Music is one of Finland’s oldest contemporary music festivals, renowned for its international profile and extensive partnerships within the EU’s Creative Europe networks.
Kerttu Piirto has previously worked in Vienna at the International Music + Media Center (IMZ), where she was responsible for the center’s Creative Europe projects and fundraising. IMZ is a leading international network of more than 150 organizations that connects audiovisual media and performing arts institutions. In Vienna, she also served as Executive Director of the Orchester Wiener Akademie. Piirto was the long-time Executive Director and producer of the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra during the 2010s.
“The achievements of the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra during the last decade are well known in Finnish music circles. I look forward to what Kerttu’s special knowledge and expertise will make possible for the festival in the years to come, as we cooperate and develop the festival,” says Johan Tallgren, the Artistic Director of the festival.
Time of Music involved in a major EU project
Time of Music received a significant 3.5-year extension from the EU’s Creative Europe program in the fall. The new Ulysses Network Platform, with a budget of over four million euros, involves 13 contemporary music festivals across Europe. The festival’s international networks are indeed unique within the Finnish festival field. The main goal of the Ulysses project is to promote the visibility of young music creators and musicians, as well as to enhance participation and employment opportunities internationally.
The next edition of Time of Music will be organized in Viitasaari on July 1–6, 2025.
More information:
Artistic Director Johan Tallgren
johan.tallgren@musiikinaika.org
tel. +35840 724 6345