FolkBALTICA Ensemblet (DK, D)

When they meet, they talk Danish, German and English, but they share a common language: music. The FolkBALTICA Ensemble consists of about 50 young musicians from southern Denmark and north Germany. The orchestra began at the annual folkBALTICA Festival, which runs in mid-May. The FolkBALTICA Ensemble is the youth orchestra for that festival, straddling the border both geographically and musically, embracing both traditional and contemporary folk music. Violinist Harald Haugaard, artistic director of the folkBALTICA Festival, leads the ensemble, whose goal is to develop young talent, and to preserve and rejuvenate the folk music traditions of the border country. Tønder Festival aims to support and foster young talent and the folk music environment, and the FolkBALTICA Ensemble's concerts have become a fixture at the festival. They play their own show and give a concert for school pupils from both sides of the Dano-German frontier.