Developing the Next Generation of Leaders in Classical Music

The LEAD! Foundation, directed by leading Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste, supports the next generation of emerging conductors, orchestra principals, and composers.

LEAD! Foundation was established by Sarah Osa, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Frances Maunder in 2017. It became a Finnish foundation in 2019. Its mission is holistic, providing not only technical and musical instruction through the LEAD! Labs, but also active mentoring and frank advice to help artists confidently navigate the competitive classical music industry.

Based in Finland and active internationally, it hosts the Fiskars Summer Festival - the platform for its annual conductors' masterclass, career workshops, and industry discussions - along with a mentorship programme and the biannual Fiskars Easter Sessions.

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✨ We want to remind you that tickets to all concerts of Fiskars Summer Festival 2026 are on sale in Tiketti! ✨ Our Open House concert this year is the Young conductors’ concert on Friday, July 31st, where the conducting students of the annual
✨ Soloist Spotlight ✨ We are proud to welcome Otto Antikainen, one of Finland’s most exciting rising violinists, to the Fiskars Summer Festival 2026! Otto Antikainen is a Finnish violinist known both as an orchestral soloist and chamber music
A friendly reminder to all conductors, that we are accepting applications for our brand new LEAD! Lab in London! ✨ Join us for two days of conversation and music centred on Brahms and the art of leadership. The LEAD! Foundation and Fidelio Cafe brin
✨ We are excited to announce that Vasily Petrenko will join us for the Fiskars Summer Festival 2026 as one of our conducting mentors ✨ Vasily Petrenko is Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a role he began in 2021, and Conductor Laur
In celebration of Vappu here in Finland, we are happy to announce that tickets to all Fiskars Summer Festival 2026 concerts are now on sale! 🥳 Fiskars Summer Festival once again offers a wonderful selection of chamber music and orchestral concerts
✨ New blog post! ✨ What makes a concert programme truly engaging and well-balanced? Our Head of Programming and Mentorship, Paul Hughes, shares his insights and practical tips in the latest LEAD! Insights article. This is valuable information to an

COMING UP

  • FISKARS EASTER SESSIONS 2026

    Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Easter Sessions earlier this spring! We were happy to see so many of you in the concerts supporting the talented young musicians of the Finnish String Academy.

    If you haven’t yet, check out the photo gallery of Easter Sessions on our website.

    Photo gallery

    Also we warmly encourage you to read the interview of our wonderful star cellist Saima Malmivaara in the blog.

    Interview

  • FISKARS SUMMER FESTIVAL 2026

    A warm welcome to the 7th edition of the Fiskars Summer Festival!

    This summer marks the seventh installment of the Fiskars Summer Festival, welcoming audiences back to the unique setting of historic Fiskars village. Centered around an intensive masterclass for emerging conductors and a mentorship programme for young instrumentalists, our festival offers a wide selection of orchestral and chamber music concerts, performed by our talented students alongside their world-class mentors and a distinguished lineup of soloists.

    Our Open House concert this year is the Young conductors’ concert on Friday, July 31st, where the conducting students of the annual masterclass will lead the acclaimed Fiskars Festival Orchestra in a programme of Mozart, Sibelius, Britten and Beethoven. The two soloists of the concert are rising Finnish star violinist Otto Antikainen, and one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, Karen Cargill.

    The final concert of the festival on Saturday, August 1st will be held once again at the Threshing House of Fiskars. On the podium will be Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducting a programme of Beethoven, Tarkiainen, Wagner and Dvořák, with Karen Cargill performing as the soloist in Wagner’s famous Wesendock Lieder (1857–58).

    Book now!

    The final concert of Fiskars Summer Festival 2026 will also be repeated in Turku as the opening concert of Turku Music Festival 2.8.2026!

    More information

  • MAHLER SYMPHONY 3 WITH THE HELSINKI PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

    LEAD! Foundation collaborates with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra for Mahler’s magnificent 3rd Symphony!

    During the rehearsal period young musicians of our programmes will play as part of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Chief Conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste. The week culminates in a public performance with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Cantores Minores, the choir of Helsinki Music Centre and mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill.

    This project focuses on developing orchestra leadership, good communication skills and music industry knowledge. It include scoaching in orchestra leadership, workshops on the music industry and individual career guidance. LEAD! Foundation's partnership with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra is an opportunity to frame its mentorship programme within one of the great Romantic symphonies of our time.