MAIN PERFORMERS 2013 Äijä (FI/SE) Thu 9 May, Vaasa City Hall

The ensemble Äijä consists of Girilal Baars, Eero Turkka, Taito Hoffrén and Pekko Käppi. The quartet’s

ethno/folk-style programme of world music features influences, for example, from Russia, Ukraine, Estonia

and Sardinia. The group’s album, Jet-Black, was in the running for the Finnish 2009 Etno-Emma prize

Seminaarinmäen Mieslaulajat (Album release tour) Vasa övningsskola Thu 9 May

In the autumn of 1989, a group of students sat talking about making music in their own style and came up

with the idea to start a different kind of male choir. The rest is history. Their show consists of music,

dramatic elements, laughter, light, smoke and surprising turns. The choir doesn’t settle just on making you

laugh though; they also take you on a journey through some delicate and even difficult themes in their

unique style. A concert given by these fabulous men is always an audio-visual whole that’s been carefully

thought through from start to finish. The staging, presentation and choreography all reinforce the core: the

choir’s music. During their album release tour in the spring of 2013, they will be led by Reima Viitala.

Tapiola Choir 50 years & Cor Infantil de l’Orfeó Catalá (ES) Vaasa City Hall, Fri 10 May

A clear-voiced mammoth of a concert by the Tapiola children’s and youth choir and the Catalonian

children’s choir, with over a hundred singers. During its 50 years of choral work, the Tapiola Choir has

grown into one of the world’s most famous and sought-after children’s and youth choirs. It has become

known for its unique tone, which is now a concept among critics around the world and known simply as the

Tapiola Sound. This collaboration is cultural exchange at its best: Tapiola Choir will visit Barcelona in March

and Cor Infantil will come to Finland and visit the Vaasa Choir Festival in May. The programme will include

both Finnish and Spanish music and will also feature the Tapiola Choir’s string orchestra. The choirs are led

by Pasi Hyökki and Glòria Coma Pedrals.

Mikrokosmos: Lively Shadows - …a different history of cinema… (FR) Fri 10 May & Sat 11 May. Cinema Ritz

A musical journey into the world of films: film and choir music arranged together in the spirit of pop art, flavoured with percussion effects. The instruments include drums, litter bins, African instruments, etc.

During this top French choir’s visit to Finland, their programme will also include Jukka Linkola’s new

composition which will premiere at the Vaasa Choir Festival. The retro-style Cinema Ritz, with its unique

atmosphere, will be the backdrop for this fantastic choir. The silver screen will host unforgettable

productions from legends such as Fritz Lang, Andrei Tarkovsky, Raoul Walsh and Alfred Hitchcock. The

choir was founded in 1989 by Loïc Pierre, who directs it with an open-minded touch, mingling different art

forms.

En musikalisk resa genom filmens värld. Ett samarrangemang i äkta popkonstanda av film och körmusik

kryddat med slagverkseffekter. Instrumenten utgörs bl.a. av trummor, skräptunnor och afrikanska musikinstrument. Under sitt Finlandsbesök framför kören bl.a. Jukka Linkolas nya komposition, som får sin

urpremiär på Vasa Körfestival. Konsertplats för den franska toppkören är retrobiografen Ritz med sin unika

atmosfär. På filmduken visas delar av bl.a. Fritz Langs, Andrej Tarkovskijs, Raoul Walsh’ och Alfred Hitchcocks oförglömliga produktion. Kören grundades år 1989 av Loïc Pierre, som leder kören på ett

fördomsfritt sätt genom att kombinera olika konstarter.

How Many Sisters & Kirmo Lintinen & Vaasa City Orchestra Vaasa City Hall, Sat 11 May

How Many Sisters – Anna-Mari Kähärä, Mervi Hiltunen and Pirjo Aittomäki – is definitely among the

crème de la crème of Finnish vocal ensembles. The group’s trademark is its inimitable and distinguishable

sound: three voices that sing together as one instrument. The ensemble celebrated its 30th birthday with the newly-published album Ikävä Omia Maita, featuring music that slides smoothly from jazz to light

classical, accompanied by the Tapiola Sinfonietta. The recording received shining reviews and presents

compositions by both Anna-Mari Kähärä and the pianist-arranger-conductor Kirmo Lintinen. You can listen

to the album’s compositions live at the Vaasa Choir Festival’s main concerts on Saturday, where Vaasa City

Orchestra will be in charge of the orchestral sections of this fabulous concert.

Barbershop World Champions 2012 - Ringmasters (SE) Vaasa City Hall Sat 11 May

Ringmasters was founded in 2006. The group consists of Jakob Stenberg (tenor), Rasmus Krigström (lead),

Emanuel Roll (baritone) and Martin Wahlgren (bass); who all graduated from Stockholm's Music High

School. Ringmasters stress the point that practicing all different genres of music is highly important. This is

clearly audible in their repertoire. In 2012 Ringmasters was titled International Champions in USA! In the

Vaasa Concert the quartet will showcase music ranging from Swedish traditional mens choir, some new

barbershop arrangements by David Wright and Aaron Dale as well as some good ol’ barbershop classics.Sit

back and enjoy the new barbershop phenomenon Ringmasters as they take you on a musical journey, and if

you simply can’t get enough, they brought some CDs!

Musical Frog Theatre On Mother’s Day Sun 12 May, two children’s concerts in Finnish and Swedish, Drama Hall at the City Library

The Frogs are director-performer Sarah Bergkulla, scriptwriter-performer Pia Leinonen and composer-

musician Joni Tiala. The concert will be roughly 30 minutes long.