Acclaimed choirs and wellbeing – the Vaasa Choir Festival returns with over 80 choirs

At the main concert of the Vaasa Choir Festival, the Vaasa City Orchestra will share the stage with the acclaimed Key Ensemble choir from Turku. The Merikuvia ja mestariteoksia concert will be held at Vaasa Church on Friday, 23 May at 18. The Key Ensemble section of the concert concludes with Meren virsi (‘Sea hymn’) by Toivo Kuula. After the choir, Vaasa City Orchestra will continue with the Merikuvia (‘Sea images’) tone poem by Uuno Klami, in which the composer, who hails from the west coast, pays homage to the sea, sailing and life at sea.

On Saturday, 24 May at 16 and 19, the wildly popular Semmarit choir takes over the stage at Ritz with their anniversary tour Mammarit 35 v. The performance, designed for large stages, features new Semmarit songs, fresh interpretations of old songs, and classic Semmarit hits. The main concert, starting at 19, is sold out. Due to the great demand, an additional concert, starting at 16, has been added to the programme.

The healing power of song at the Choir Festival

Musiikkineuvos (Counsellor of Music) Marjukka Riihimäki will bring her Laulusta Voimaa! choir to the festival. Riihimäki is known as an inspiring choir conductor whose ensembles – the Sibelius-lukion kamarikuoro (Sibelius Upper Secondary School Chamber Choir), Philomela, Grex Musicus, and the Klemetti Institute Women’s Choir – have captivated audiences and juries with their performances in Finland and abroad. The award-winning conductor, now retired, has led communal singing sessions for residents in care homes and spoken extensively about the healing power of singing, particularly for people with dementia.

Laulusta Voimaa! is a senior choir whose members live in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Originally a group of just a few singers, the choir has grown into a mixed choir of around fifty members over its twelve years of operation.

During the festival, the choir will perform in three care homes on Thursday and Friday: Folkhälsanhuset Wasa, Präntöön Helmi, and Vuorikoti. In addition to the visits, the choir will perform at the Non Stop event at Rewell Shopping Centre on Friday, 24 May, concluding with a sing-along led by Riihimäki and the choir.

Joining Riihimäki and her choir in Vaasa will be psychologist and non-fiction writer Pirkko Lahti. During the Laulusta Voimaa! choir’s performances, Lahti will give a talk on the positive impact of music and culture on wellbeing.

The mass choir will sing of spring and love

On Saturday 24 May at 17.00, the mass choir of the Finlands Svenska Damkörsförbund (FSD) will perform at Vaasa City Hall. The choir brings together 13 female choirs and over 150 singers from various parts of Swedish-speaking Finland. The Kevättä ja rakkautta (‘Spring and Love’) concert is based on the association’s popular songbook Damernas lilla svarta (‘Ladies’ little black book’) which combines familiar choir songs, new compositions, and exciting arrangements. The mass choir is conducted by the leaders of the member choirs.

FSD (Finland’s Swedish Women’s Choir Association) was founded in 1988 and has since been a strong advocate for soprano choir singing in Swedish-speaking Finland. The association has 26 member choirs, with a total of around 740 singers. The member choirs are spread across Swedish-speaking Finland, from Lappträsk in the east to Kokkola in the north.

Soirées and free concerts

The Vaasa Choir Festival will be held for the 31st time, and this year, it features as many as 86 choirs. In addition to the concerts, the festival will host a pop-rock evening at Culture House Fanny on Friday at 19, as well as a choir karaoke at Jolene Happy Bar Vaasa on Saturday at 21.

There will also be many free concerts at various locations throughout the city during the Choir Festival. Nearly 40 choirs will perform over the course of two days during the traditional Non Stop events at Rewell Shopping Centre. This year, five themed concerts will be held for the first time: the main concert Merikuvia ja mestariteoksia (‘Sea images and Masterpieces’), Yhtyeet estradilla (‘Ensembles on Stage’) ja Kansanlaulut meiltä ja maailmalta  (‘Folk Songs from Home and Abroad’) at the City Hall, Gospel at Palosaari Church, and Ystävyyden ja rakkauden laulut (‘Songs of Friendship and Love’) at Culture House Fanny.

View the full programme at vaasa.fi/en/vaasa-choir-festival

Tickets for the paid concerts are available at the venue entrance, at StudioTicket (Rewell Shopping Centre, 2nd floor), or via the NetTicket online shop at:

• Merikuvia ja mestariteoksia and
• Semmarit Mammarit 35 v. juhlakiertue.