The National Folk Festival and the Australian National University (ANU) have struck a partnership that will give music students the opportunity to learn from an internationally acclaimed Finnish folk trio.

T3HO will perform at the NFF over Easter next year but in the lead-up will conduct a week-long creative residency.

The residency is the first stage of a long-term collaboration between the ANU School of Music and the NFF.

It will bring together Festival artists, ANU students, and the wider Canberra community, running from Monday 30 March to Wednesday 1 April 2026.

The intensive will invite students from classical performance, jazz, composition, music technology and musicology into a single interdisciplinary cohort.

Together with T3HO and NFF co-Artistic Director Dr Chris Stone, students will explore contemporary Nordic folk traditions, ensemble creativity, improvisation and acoustic-electronic integration.

Head of the ANU School of Music, Professor Adrian Walter, said the partnership demonstrated the School’s commitment to innovative, cross-genre, industry-connected learning.

“This collaboration enriches our students’ experience by giving them close interaction with leading international performers in a contemporary and meaningful way and will form a key part of the School’s innovative and professionally aligned Bachelor of Music program in 2026,” Professor Walter said.

“We are also delighted that this partnership will make a valuable contribution to Canberra’s cultural life and support one of Australia’s most significant national festivals.”

Dr Stone said the program strengthened the Festival’s long-term vision of youth engagement and community connection.

“Bringing ANU students directly into Festival programming is vital to our artistic future,” Dr Stone said.

“This intensive builds lasting relationships between emerging musicians and international artists, and supports the Festival’s ethos of excellence, inclusion, integration and sustainability.”

During the residency, T3HO members Esko Järvelä, Tero Hyväluoma and Antti Puumalainen will lead workshops, mixed-ensemble rehearsals, creative technique sessions and a special lecture-recital open to a wider student audience.

The program culminates in a public performance at the ANU School of Music, followed by a second performance on stage at the Festival.

This pilot forms the foundation for an expanded future pre-Festival music school, with plans for multi-day programs, additional ensemble streams and increased national participation.