NETWORKING MIXER | AUG 20 (4-6PM) | SMALL WORLD CENTRE
KEYNOTE PANEL | AUG 21 (10-11:30AM) | KESKfEST TENT
Nordic Connect Conference (NCC) is the industry-facing platform of Estonian Music Week, created to build meaningful professional connections between Canadian artists, presenters, festivals, export organizations and music-sector leaders from Estonia, the Nordic region and the Baltics.
Nordic Connect Conference 2026
On August 20-21, 2026, VEMU Estonian Museum Canada will present a special edition of Nordic Connect Conference focused on strengthening connections between the music industries of Toronto and Tallinn.
The conference will bring together a curated group of artists, artist representatives, festivals, venues and other music professionals for structured meetings, knowledge exchange, site visits and networking activities. Participants will learn about the Estonian and wider Nordic-Baltic music markets, develop relationships with potential partners and explore opportunities for touring, bookings and future collaboration.
Rather than relying solely on a traditional showcase model, Nordic Connect Conference emphasizes meaningful professional exchange. Its programming is designed to help participants understand one another’s markets, identify areas of mutual interest and build relationships that can continue beyond the event itself.
Thanks to the support of the City of Toronto, four Toronto-based artist managers, booking agents or self-managed artists will be selected through an open call to participate free of charge.
About Nordic Connect Conference
Nordic Connect Conference is the industry-facing platform of Estonian Music Week. It was created to build meaningful professional connections between Canadian artists and music organizations and their counterparts in Estonia, the Nordic region and the Baltics.
Following a successful pilot in 2023, NCC expanded into its first full conference edition in Toronto in 2025. The event brought together 57 delegates from six countries, including 35 Canadian and 22 international participants representing festivals, venues, artist management, media, service organizations, self-managed artists, cultural institutions and government.
The 2025 programme combined artist showcases with panels, facilitated discussions and structured and informal networking. Five Canadian artists performed for delegates, while conference sessions explored touring, artist development, venues, cultural exchange and sustainable approaches to international collaboration.
The conference generated concrete outcomes for participating artists and organizations. Approximately 80% of showcasing artists received booking interest or identified clear next steps following the event, while conversations initiated through NCC continued to develop into touring opportunities, local bookings and new international partnerships.
NCC’s work also extends beyond Toronto. In 2026, VEMU and Nordic Connect Conference participated in Canadian Industry Connect at Tallinn Music Week, creating opportunities for Canadian artists and industry professionals to meet international counterparts and develop a stronger understanding of the Estonian and wider Nordic-Baltic markets.
Together, the 2023 pilot, the expanded 2025 conference and the 2026 international activities have established NCC as a growing platform for export development, cultural exchange and practical collaboration between the Canadian, Estonian and Nordic-Baltic music sectors.
NETWORKING MIXER
Join us for an informal networking mixer bringing together artists and music professionals from Canada with our visiting delegation from Estonia and Finland. This open gathering is a chance to meet potential collaborators, exchange ideas, and learn more about music scenes, artists, festivals, venues and opportunities across the Nordic-Baltic region. Whether you are an artist, manager, presenter, venue, label, media professional or simply interested in building international connections, you are welcome to take part. Come for conversation, new contacts and a relaxed opportunity to connect with colleagues helping shape future collaboration between Canada, Estonia, Finland and beyond.
Snacks and refreshments provided courtesy of the Embassy of Estonia in Ottawa.
Thursday August 20, 4 - 6 PM
Small World Centre (Studio 101, 180 Shaw Street, Toronto)
FREE with RSVP
Keynote Panel
Music Without Borders: Diaspora, Diplomacy and the Power of Connection
How can diaspora communities and the relationships they foster among artists, music professionals and institutions strengthen cross-border connections? Bringing together an artist, agent, cultural programmer and human rights advocate, this keynote conversation will explore how music and cultural exchange can promote resilience and social cohesion, and how cultural communities in Canada, the Baltics and beyond are navigating changing security dynamics and international alliances. Moderated by the CBC’s Tom Allen, this Estonian Music Week and Nordic Connect Conference event connects the conference with the wider KESKfEST celebrations.
With an introduction by Estonia's Assistant Deputy Minister of Culture, Eda Silberg.
Moderator: Tom Allen
Tom Allen was born in Montreal and worked as a trombonist in New York when there were still places you just didn’t go. He began working for the CBC on his 30th birthday, a long time ago. He has written books, created countless shows for theatre companies and orchestras, as well as touring a series of chamber musicals with his beloved, the harpist Lori Gemmell, including JS Bach’s Long Walk in the Snow and their latest, Brahms in New York. Tom was recently named an honorary Doctor of Music by Brandon University. His latest project is an 18th century-style Classical Musick Almanack with illustrator Ian Bell, built on gossip, steampunk technology and, within certain limitations, history. www.tomtomallen.com.
Speaker: Jutta Brendemühl
Jutta Brendemühl is a curator, writer and consultant with a focus on international cultural exchange.
As the Program Curator of the Goethe-Institut Toronto, previously Harbourfront Centre programmer, Jutta has produced 3000+ events, founded multiple arts series and spaces, and worked with luminaries such as Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, Bernardo Bertolucci, Wim Wenders, Robert Rauschenberg, and others.
Jury invites include Canadian Screen Awards; Hot Docs; Toronto Arts Council; Kassel Documentary & Video Festival. Board duties include UKAI Projects, EUFFTO, DOK Exchange Leipzig XR Advisory; ArtworxTO Emerging Artist Spotlight Mentor; AGO South Asian Visual Arts Collective Outreach Committee.
Jutta is a fellow of the TAC/Banff Centre Cultural Leaders Lab, a North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative Collaborator, and participated in the inaugural Wavelength Music Conference in Toronto.
Speaker: Ewelina Ferenc
Ewelina Ferenc is a Toronto-based folk singer, ethnomusicologist, and manager from Katowice, Poland. Ewelina is the founder of Sweet Beets Music, a boutique booking agency that connects artists, presenters, festivals, and venues to create unforgettable musical experiences. Sweet Beets focuses on folk, global, jazz and innovative music, while fostering an inclusive community of music lovers and explorers.
Drawing on Ewelina's experience both on stage and behind the scenes, Ewelina supports musicians at every stage of their careers, with a strong focus on culturally diverse projects led by women, immigrants, and Toronto-based as well as brings international talent to Canada.
Speaker: Marcus Kolga
Marcus Kolga is a Canadian journalist, human rights advocate, and internationally recognized expert on foreign disinformation, influence operations, and transnational repression. For over two decades, he has been at the forefront of exposing and countering authoritarian information warfare, working with governments, civil society, and media to defend democratic institutions and human rights. He regularly comments and appears in national and international media, and is frequently consulted by policymakers, parliamentary committees, and security agencies.
Marcus is the founder of DisinfoWatch.org, a leading Canadian platform that monitors, analyzes, and debunks foreign disinformation targeting Canada and its allies. His expertise spans Russian, Chinese, and Iranian information operations, and he has become a prominent voice in policy debates on countering malign influence.
Beyond policy and advocacy, Kolga remains deeply connected to his Estonian heritage and Canada’s Baltic communities. He has worked to strengthen ties between Canada and the Baltic states through cultural initiatives, public events, and community advocacy.
Speaker: Marichka
Marichka is a Ukrainian-Canadian singer, ethnomusicologist, war journalist and producer whose work stands at the intersection of music, human rights and cultural diplomacy. A graduate of the National Music Academy of Ukraine, she has spent years on field expeditions recording traditional village singing — research that now underpins her digital archive, Folk Songs of Ukraine. She has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Barbican Centre, and has been part of Lemon Bucket Orkestra, Balaklava Blues, and Dora Award-winning and JUNO-nominated productions. Since 2022 she has worked as a combat medic, volunteer and frontline reporter, documenting Russia’s crimes against Ukrainian children — the focus of her own international project, Daughters of Donbas. She is an Amnesty International Award recipient.
