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.
COMING UP
-
CONDUCTING MENTORS 2026
Each year the annual conducting masterclass at the Fiskars Summer Festival brings together distinguished conductors who serve as mentors to emerging conducting students. Among the mentors we have had the pleasure of welcoming over the years are Esa-Pekka Salonen, Hannu Lintu, James Gaffigan, Dalia Stasevska and Eva Ollikainen.
This year, we are delighted to welcome Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Vasily Petrenko, and Dima Slobodeniouk as our conducting mentors. Together they represent some of the most accomplished and influential voices in the conducting world today. For our students this is a rare opportunity to learn from conductors working at the highest international level.
-
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).
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!
-
MAHLER SYMPHONY 3 WITH THE HELSINKI PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
In May 2026 LEAD! Foundation collaborated with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra for Mahler’s magnificent 3rd Symphony!
During the rehearsal period young musicians of our programmes performed as part of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Chief Conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste. The week culminated in a public performance with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Cantores Minores, the choir of Helsinki Music Centre and mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill.
We are extremely happy to collaborate with Karen Cargill again in a few months in Fiskars, where she’ll perform as the soloist in all our orchestral concerts.