KLANG festival gets a new artistic director

26/8 2022

It is with great excitement and pleasure amongst KLANG’s board of directors and administration that we can announce that our new artistic director is composer JAMES BLACK.

As both a performer and a composer, James Black has already made their mark on the Danish music scene with courage, adventurous spirit, and visionary ideas. We feel that we are in safe hands with James Black, while also knowing that we are on the way into unknown territory.

KLANG festival’s board encountered the perfect combination of this spirit, along with a clear vision and a gentle focus on the human aspect of music creation and performance, when James Black applied for the position. We eagerly anticipate seeing this combination unfold over the coming years’ festivals.

James Black writes:
“I am honoured to be given this chance to contribute my artistic voice to Danish and international music life in a new way. I hope to use this opportunity to thoughtfully and responsibly move the new music environment forwards, while at the same time having the courage and vision to take the large artistic risks I am used to taking in my own practice.”

Black was born in the UK, and moved to Copenhagen to study composition in 2013, after studies at the University of Oxford. Their debut concert in 2018 attracted a large amount of attention by demonstrating the sensitivity, authenticity, and precision of Black’s work.
KLANG festival are looking forward to the new and exciting collaborations and concert experiences that Black’s international network can offer to the festival in 2023 and the future.

Martin Malmgreen, chairman of the board, writes:

“The board went into the process of finding KLANG’s new artistic director with openness and curiosity about what the applicants could bring. James Black blew us away by embodying and emphasizing – both in personality and concrete ideas – that a festival that creates new, moving music needs to focus on the human, the vulnerable, and the challenging. We were convinced by their vision, and we cannot wait to work with James in the coming years”

James Black has already begun in the position. We can hardly wait to see what they bring to the role in 2023 and beyond.

Welcome James!

KLANG festival gets a new artistic director

Programme