The Danish New Music Academy
The Danish New Music Academy is a 6-day residential summer course for new music creation.
Our aim is to forge new relationships between composers and musicians, and strengthen the Danish new music environment.
The next installment of the Danish New Music Academy will be held between 3rd-8th August 2026 in Aarhus.
About us
We are the Danish New Music Academy – three artists who identified an urgent need in the Danish music environment for a course bringing together composers and performers.
Taking our inspiration from Bang On A Can festival in the United States, and many similar festivals around Europe, our goal is to build bridges between the classical and contemporary music environments, and foster a curious and open-minded approach.
We are a grass-roots collective - we believe that music should be taught from the bottom-up rather than the top-down. Our emphasis is on playing, listening, performing, creating, discussing, and experiencing together.
We don’t want to tell people what to do, or lecture on how to experience music – we want to create shared experiences that strengthen the bonds between composer, performer, and audience. We believe that the best way to make music, is to make music.
Contact: danishnewmusicacademy @ gmail.com
Sofie Thorsbro Dan is a Danish violinist. In 2015, she graduated from the University of Performing Arts and Music in Graz, under the guidance of the legendary Klangforum Wien, and has since been performing new music worldwide. She is a member of the internationally renowned Curious Chamber Players, and a founding member of the radical and uncompromising Black Page Orchestra in Vienna.
Anja Nedremo is a Norwegian saxophonist. She had her debut in 2018 from the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, where she now teaches. She performs and produces concerts internationally with several ensembles including NJYD, another of Denmark’s leading new music ensembles, of which she is a founding member. She has won numerous competitions and scholarships, such as the Sonning talent prize, the Norwegian Ticon prize, and Aennchen and Egil Harby’s fond.
Emil Vijgen is a composer and performer based in Denmark and Austria. He has studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, and Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität in Linz. He's on the board of Second Sound, previously member of UNM.
