The 10th Annual Sibelius Festival
 
The Musicians

The
Music
 
The classical music festival began Wednesday, July 30th, with a concert by mezzosporano Melis Jaatinen and her piano accompanist. Maija Vtiistinen
Melis Jaatinen, mezzosoprano
Melis Jaatinen (b. 1982), Vantaa, Finland, studied voice and musicology at the orwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, and now studies voice at the Sibelius Academy. Ms. jaarinen made her opera debut in 2005, singing Cherubino in La Nozze di Figaro for the Pori Opera, and performing the role of Dido in Dido and Aeneas. Ms. [aatinen sang the bridesmaid in Weber's Freiscbiaz and Ulla in lsdn tytto (Daddy's Girl) for me Finnish National Opera in the 2007-2008 season. Her talent has been recognized ar the Timo Musrakallio, the Lappeenranta Vocal Competition, and in Finnish Broadcasting Company competitions. jaarinen's vocal repertoire includes songs by composers including Faure, Grieg, Ravel, Schumann, and Sibelius.
 
Maija Väisänen, piano
Maija Väisänen (b. 1981) O~lu,.Finland, began playing me piano at age six. Since 2002 she has been srudymg at me Sibelius Academy and 111 Berl111. Ms. Vaisanen has performed at Finnish festivals such as me Nauvo Chamber Music Festival and me Aboa Musica Festival. In 2005 she was named me Young Artist of me Year at me Oulu Music Festival. She has appeared as a soloist for the Turku Filharmonic Orchestra and me Norm Carelia Polytechnic Orchestra, and performed concerts in Finland and Germany. In 2007 Ms. Vaisanen received Second Prize in the International Concours Grieg Piano Duo Competition in Oslo, and a Special Prize for Outstanding Performance of Finnish Music in the International Maj Lind Piano Competition in Helsinki.
The Concert
Robert Schumann (1810-1856): Sechs Gedichte von N. Lenau und Requiem (Six Songs to Words by [Nikolaus] Lenau, and a Requiem), Op, 90 Lied eines Schmiedes (A Blacksmith's Song)
Meine Rose (My Rose)
Kommen und Scheiden (Meeting and Parting) Die Sennin (The Milkmaid)
finsamkeit (Solitude)
Der schwere Abend (The Sultry Evening) Requiem
Leevi Madetoja (1887 -1947):
Hymyi Hypnos, Op. 9 (Hypnos Smiled, 1911, text by L Onerva) Kehtolaulu, Op. 16 (Berceuse, 1912, text by L Pohjanpaa)
Tule kanssani, Op. 9 (Come with Me, 1911, text by L Onerva)

Maurice Ravel (1875 -1937): Trois poemes de Stephane Mal/arme Soupir (Sigh)
Placet futile (Futile petition)
Surgi de la croupe et du bond (Sprung from the croup and the flight)
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907): Op. 48
Gruss (Greeting, text by H. Heine)
Die verschwiegene Nachtigall (The Nightingale's Secret, text by W Goethe) Zur Rosenzeit (The Time of Roses, text by W Goethe)
fin Traum (A Dream, text by Bodenstedt)
 
The festival continued Thursday with a Piano Concert performed by Joonas Ahonen at the Finnish American Heritage Center
Joonas Ahonen, piano
 

Joonas Ahonen (b. 1984) began piano lessons when he was five. He has been studying at the Sibelius Academy and the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. Audiences first became widely aware of Ahonen following his success in the National  Jyväskylä Piano Competition in 2001 and the International Maj Lind Piano Competition in 2002. In Finland, he has performed at the Helsinki Festival and with the Finnish National Opera. In 2003, Mr. Ahonen was appointed Young Musician of the Year by the Lux Musicae Festival in Siuntio, Finland. He has appeared with the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Finnish Chamber Orchestra, and the Avanti Chamber Orchestra. Ahonen worked with the eminent Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina in Santander, Spain. He has premiered two piano concertos composed for him, and regularly records for the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE).

 
The Concert
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957):
Romance in A Major, Op. 24, No.2  (1895)
Sonatina in B-flat minor, Op. 67, No. 3 (1912)
Finlandia, Op. 26 (1899, piano arrangement by the composer, 1900)

Charles Ives (1874 -1954):
Sonata for Piano, No.2 "The Concord"
Emerson
Hawthorn
The Alcotts
Thoreau
 
The third and final concert was a performance by Kaisa Koivula, playing clarinet and Jukka Ojala playing the accordian. This concert took place at St. Peter's by the Sea  Church in Eagle Harbor.
Kaisa Koivula, clarinet

Kaisa Koivula is preparing for her Diploma at the Sibelius Academy. She is a member of Soli Amici, a chamber music group that has been studying and performing in Italy, France, and the U.S. In 2005 Soli Amici appeared at Finlandia's 7th Annual Sibelius Academy Music Festival. Ms. Koivula has worked as an assistant in the Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki, and the Tampere Philharmonias. She has played in productions of Janacek's Cunning Vixen, Puccini's Tosca, Fiddler on the Roof, and My Fair Lady. Ms. Koivula teaches clarinet and is an active member of the Helsinki Klezmer Kapelye. She has participated in master classes of Yiddish music in ST. Petersburg, Russia, and Weimar, Germany.
 
 
Jukka Ojala, accordionist

Jukka Ojala started accordion lessons at the age of seven at a local music school in Kouvola, southeastern Finland. In 2000 he began his studies at the Sibelius Academy. Besides performing a solo repertoire, Ojala is an experienced chamber musician. He has performed with the Avanti Chamber Orchestra and the Finnish National Opera Orchestra. In April of this year, Ojala gave his accordion Diploma Concert, receiving the highest honors. Just this summer, he completed a Master of Music at the Sibelius Academy of Music.
 
 
Roger Reynolds, composer
Mr. Roger Reynolds. Roger is a Pulitzer prize-winning composer whose work often employs the most current computer technology. He has worked closely with each of this year's Sibelius Academy musicians as they developed their individual performance programs. I hope you will find that the program notes offered by the musicians and by Roger Reynolds add to your enjoyment and understanding of the performance pieces.
 
Karen (Hill) Reynolds, flutist
Roger is married to Karen (Hill) Reynolds, a native of Wakefield, MI. Karen is also a musician a prominent flutist and a member of the FCA Sibelius Task Force.