The new Mirjam Helin Academy supports young singers on the road to international success
The curriculum builds on the already significant support for singers provided by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and helps young students find their own artistic voice.
In the autumn of 2025, the Finnish Cultural Foundation is set to launch the Mirjam Helin Academy, an initiative that seeks to provide further education for ambitious young singers and to support them in the formation of their artistic identity. The Mirjam Helin Academy will provide a two-year programme, and teaching will be given in intense weekend sessions and at summer courses to be held across Finland, in collaboration with leading Finnish practitioners in the field.
When it comes to classical music, Finland is widely known as a small country that punches well above its weight, a country that produces many acclaimed conductors, singers and musicians for the world’s leading orchestras and the stages of the most prestigious opera houses.
“Finnish musicians already have a very good reputation, but we also need to take some practical steps to foster and nurture exceptional talent. We have decided to make a significant investment in this new educational initiative to help support young singers in their journey towards an international breakthrough,” explains Susanna Pettersson, CEO of the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
The Mirjam Helin Academy welcomes applications from all talented students of classical voice and young professionals in the field whose aim is to reach the very highest standards of excellence. The application period will commence in January 2025. The selected students will study topics including performance, putting together a programme, vocal technique, and many associated skills required in the music industry. The Finnish Cultural Foundation will cover all the students’ expenses.
“We do not want to restrict applications too much, for instance by imposing an age limit. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and from all regions of Finland. Attaining the skills and qualities necessary for an international career is possible regardless of one’s background; drive and commitment are far more important factors,” says Pettersson.
Among the teaching staff at the Mirjam Helin Academy will be one of our most acclaimed international stars, the soprano Camilla Nylund, currently enjoying a busy and successful career at some of the most prestigious opera houses in Europe.
“A singer’s career is about much more than just singing. You need to be able to construct your day-to-day life around singing. In the throes of a demanding competition, you must be able to find a space where your own voice and experience can shine through. The Mirjam Helin Academy has carefully considered the best ways to support young singers in their growth and development. I can’t wait to find out what kinds of voices we will have the pleasure of working with,” Camilla Nylund explains.
The teachers at the Mirjam Helin Academy will be recruited from the very top of the music profession, and they include opera singers, conductors, directors, musical experts and professionals. One of the teachers will be the bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni, who was one of the judges at the International Mirjam Helin Singing Competition in the summer of 2024.
The Finnish Cultural Foundation continues its support for music
The Finnish Cultural Foundation has long supported and championed the full spectrum of musical life in Finland. One particularly apt example of this is its support for the International Mirjam Helin Singing Competition, one of the most prestigious classical singing competitions in the world. Many of the competition’s prize winners have gone on to have stellar singing careers. The Finnish Cultural Foundation has resolved to invest in the competition even further, and as a result the competition will now be held every three years.
In October 2024, the Finnish Cultural Foundation announced that it will support the foundation of a new opera laboratory at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet with an endowment of 1.2 million euros. The aim of the laboratory is to create new contemporary opera by facilitating collaboration between a wide array of artists and practitioners, thus simultaneously helping to increase diversity within the opera world.
As with the International Mirjam Helin Singing Competition, the Mirjam Helin Academy will be funded via the Mirjam and Hans Helin donor fund. The aim of this fund is to support the singing competition, to award grants and bursaries to singing students and to artists and initiatives within the classical-music field more broadly. The fund is named after Mirjam Helin (1911–2006), who made a significant donation to the Finnish Cultural Foundation. She was a renowned singer and much-loved voice pedagogue with a passion for teaching, a profession in which she continued until she was over 80 years of age.
Mirjam Helin Academy
- A two-year programme for classical singers
- Weekend sessions and summer courses in different parts of Finland
- 6-10 participants
- Application period in January-February 2025
- The programme starts in August 2025
