Making the ice sing in Ilulissat

This weekend sees the opening of the Ice Music Festival Greenland sessions in Ilulissat. An opportunity to (re)discover a festival that makes ice sing, with a focus on science.

At first, people thought he was crazy. It has to be said that the concept was quite surprising: making music with instruments made of ice. And yet, Terje Isungset was right. By carving his own instruments out of blocks of ice, this Norwegian composer and percussionist was able to create unique, unprecedented sounds. A first ice music concert in 2000 paved the way for a new kind of festival, the Ice Music Festival.

Launched in 2006, the festival has just completed its 19th edition, with a program that has been enriched by a scientific component since its inception. Lectures and presentations by scientists on the effects of global warming are part of a festival partnered by the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research.

At this year’s event, held from February 19 to 24, the program was resolutely oriented towards nature, and featured Norwegian joik singer Torgeir Vassvik and Norwegian singer Thea Hjelmeland. And the fun wasn’t just for the ears, either, as the festival decided to give the audience bundled up in down jackets and ski pants a feast for the eyes too, thanks to the ice sculptures of Norwegian artist Gunnvieg Nerol who sculpted an Eiffel Tower in ice over seven meters high.

But the program doesn’t stop there, as the festival is now going abroad. Head for Ilulissat and its magnificent fjord, where the ice calved by the Sermeq Kujalleq flows, for special Greenland sessions.

Outdoor concerts, art installations and a science camp will be held on March 9 and 10. A show that is not only musical or artistic, but also engaged, as the organizers state on the event’s website: “Greenland is experiencing the effects of climate change at a faster rate than most of the world, so weaving the magic of Ice Music into the local Avannaata community’s lived experience, will make an important statement about life surrounded by earth’s most precious resource – water.”

For more information: https: //www.icemusicfestivalnorway.no/greenland-sessions

Mirjana Binggeli, PolarJournal

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Terje Isungset is one of the most accomplished and innovative musicians in Europe. He builds his musical instruments from natural products and even makes ice sing.