Workshop: Kantele, Advanced Small Kantele Lessons with Olga Shishkina
Advanced 5-to 11-string Kantele lesson will cover more advanced techniques for playing.
Pre-registration is required. Students will be placed on a first-come first-served basis up to twelve(12) students. Bring your own instrument or there will be some 5-string kanteles available to borrow.
Olga Shishkina
Olga Shiskina (b. 1985 in Leningrad) is a unique kantele musician whose individual style results from versatile studies in different instruments and musical genres. Olga studied Russian kantele (gusli) at St. Petersburg State Rimksy-Korsakov Conservatory, while in the meantime doing secondary studies in piano, organ and orchestral conducting. In 2008 she graduated with the highest honors diploma getting a special honor to be one of the very few performers at the graduation ceremony concert. In autumn 2008 Olga started her Master's degree studies in Finnish concert kantele at Sibelius Academy choosing classical piano and later jazz piano as her side instruments.
At the age of 16 Olga was awarded second prize at the prestigious 6th All-Russian Competition thus becoming the youngest laureate in the competition's history. In 2011 she got third prize and a special prize from the Society of Finnish composers at the First International Kantele Competition. Olga has also been awarded the title "Hope of Russia" and the "Star of Prometheus" from the Worldwide Club of Petersburgers.
During these last few years, Olga has been actively building her career as an electric kantele player in the rhythm and jazz/improvisational music. In 2009 she played at the opening ceremony of Suomi-Tali in St. Petersburg which was attended by the prime-ministers of Finland and Russia, Matti Vanhanen and Vladmir Putin. Olga appeared on the Brazilian Aeroplane Album "Simetria: Bo Kasper in Brazil" introducing kantele in jazz bossa nova. Being always attracted to new unexplored areas and further opportunities of the instrument, Olga founded a duo project with Timo Kämäräinen on guitar which brings the potential of the kantele to a new level in the context of fusion/jazz music.
Olga has fast become one of the main characters in the process of internationalization of Finnish kantele at the same time bringing the great level of Russian Music School to the Finnish national instrument scene. She has also been actively using youtube as a means of sharing her music around the world. As a result, Olga's videos are getting top views in the kantele scene worldwide.
Olga has played in the USA, the UK, Japan, Belgium, Sweden, and many other European countries performing both solo and with other musicians.
