Opening Ceremony
The festive Opening Ceremony welcomes FinnFest 2011 visitors to San Diego in both official and fun fashion!
The U.S. Navy Band Southwest will start the ceremonies by playing National anthems. Official greetings are accompanied by spirited musical performances by Anttu Koistinen and Olga Shishkina (playing electric kantele), Maria Kizirian and Singing Strings.
Colorful dancers, and other "tastes" of the upcoming programs during FinnFest 2011 welcome visitors to “catch the Finnish wave” and get into the FinnFest 2011 spirit!
Anttu Koistinen
Eighteen year old Anttu Koistinen received one of the first electric Wing kantele instruments developed by his father, Hannu Koistinen, when he was only 8 years old, and quickly he found his own, quite unique way to play and perform on the instruments. Anttu has always played, while standing up, 15-string electric kanteles, which are provided with a strap. His relaxed style of playing brought new freedom to kantele-playing in general, and experimenting with them and developing new techniques and sounds increased his enthusiasm. Only 6 months after he had started playing, there was the first live TV performance on TV 1 Lauantaivekkari program. The style of playing and performing also developed because of the gigs. “The bigger the stage, the better,” Anttu was thinking, already at the age of 10.
Anttu played more and more gigs, both in Finland and abroad, at various kinds of events and, in 2004, a three-song single CD, “Pikkujättiläinen” [The Small Giant] was published. In 2005 Anttu had his first performances in America, together with Senni Eskelinen, at the Grand Finn Fest in Marquette, and at the Finlandia Art & Music Festival in Poulsbo. In the same year, there was also a performance on TV with Trio Töykeät. In 2006 there were two other TV performances and Anttu also received the honor of being selected as the first Pori Jazz Young Star artist. (The biggest jazz festival in the Nordic countries) Important performances in 2007 were, among others, the opening ceremonies at “Suomi 90” in the Finlandia House and in St. Petersburg, at the Anitškov Palace.
During the year 2008, the KEHO band got its start, its members include Teemu Eerola (keyboards) Jesse Ojajärvi (drums), Rasmus Harinen (bass) and Anttu Koistinen. The following year (2009) KEHO was invited to the United States to perform as the lead number at the Scandinavian Hjemkomst festival.
As his newest project, Anttu is along on the “Sound of Koli” CD, published by Koistinen Kantele, it will be ready in summer 2011, and will be available at FinnFest 2011. Anttu is now 18 years old, in IB of the upper grades of senior secondary school (English-language International Baccalaureate) and will start his third year in August.
Maria Kizirian
Maria Kizirian is a Finnish producer, composer and singer, whose roots in the music business began as a recording artist at EMI Music in Finland. Her singles, "Onnellinen” (Happy), “Katsoin aurinkoon” (I Looked at the Sun), and “Olipa kerran” (Once Upon a Time) were played frequently on Finnish radio stations in the late 1990’s. Maria moved to the USA with her American husband and has received an extensive audience and airplay on nearly a hundred different American radio stations. Today she focuses mainly on producing music. Maria's music can be heard at: www.mariakizirian.com.
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.
Singing Strings
The Singing Strings are a very dedicated group of young music students who sing, dance and REALLY play their violins, bringing tremendous joy and pleasure to their audiences.
Singing Strings were started by two very talented musicians and twins, Hilpi and Helina Leino, one a violinist, the other a pianist. Both Hilpi and Helina were schooled at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. Hilpi made her professional life in Finland and Helina in the USA. In 1984 Singing Strings was born, and a cultural exchange between Finland and the USA officially started.
First performers were Hilpi’s children, professional musician friends from Sibelius Academy and Helina’s students from her program in Iron Range, Minnesota. Singing Strings now is in its 27th year of performance and has had 6 different groups of music students, all from “Evergreen School of Performing Arts”, with Helina Leino-Pakola as director. The school moved from Iron Range, MN to Edina, MN in 1996.
