The Christmas concert of the Turku Music Festival this year is a joint production with the Fondazione Luciano Pavarotti!
The programme of the Christmas concert includes Italian opera repertoire popularised by the late Luciano Pavarotti and Christmas music. The programme is being planned by Paolo Andreoli, Artistic Director of the Fondazione Luciano Pavarotti.
The foundation singers are accompanied by two top-notch Finnish singers: baritone Gabriel Kivivuori Sereno and soprano Emma Kajander.
The Turku Music Festival was founded by the Musical Society in Turku in 1960. It has evolved into a diverse urban event with a wide range of excellent music including grand orchestral concerts, chamber music, recitals, jazz, outdoor events and children’s concerts. The guest roster includes Finnish and foreign stars each year. The current Artistic Director is Lauri Porra. His predecessors include Klaus Mäkelä, Ville Matvejeff, Topi Lehtipuu, Olli Mustonen and Martti Rousi.
In this TMF episode, pianist Tuuli Lempa and cellist Andreas Helling interview each other in connection with October’s Aurora: An Evening of English Music. Mike Valtonen, Communications and Production Coordinator of the Turku Music Festival, will introduce you to the video. The video, like the duo, is bilingual! Tuuli and Andreas talk about how they came to play together and their connection to British composer Camden Reeves, whose work “Still above ground” will be performed at the Aurora concert in October. As its name suggests, the concert will focus on English composers.
The programme of the Turku Music Festival in August 2024 includes international guest stars, interesting concerts and venues both familiar and completely new. The overarching theme of the repertoire is internationalism: every concert has connections to current topics in public debate in Europe or worldwide. We also offer extended concert experiences that bring together music, art, architecture, food and interesting places and people.
Join us in this exploration!
CALLA is a novel virtuoso pop music women’s vocal ensemble from Helsinki. Founded in 2023, it is a group of professional musicians dedicated to expanding the niche of a cappella in the field of popular music through artistry and a unique sound. Their programme features original songs by the ensemble members and innovative arrangements of current Finnish and international hits.
Emma Kajander is a Finnish soprano. She studied singing with Irina Gavrilovic and graduated from the Sibelius Academy with Outi Kähkönen. She also graduated from the Helsinki Conservatory of Music under Hanna-Leena Haapamäki.
She has performed in major roles both at home and abroad. She has built her stage career in the roles of Christine Daaé, in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s The Phantom of the Opera (Finnish National Opera, 2024), Papagena, in W. A. Mozart in The Magic Flute (Sibelius Academy, 2022), Valencienne in Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow (Helsinki Conservatory, 2022).
Gabriel Kivivuori Sereno (b. 2003) is a Finnish-Mexican singer and composer who has quickly established himself as one of Finland’s promising young musicians. He is currently completing his Bachelor’s degree in vocal performance at the Sibelius Academy under Petteri Salomaa. Kivivuori Sereno is a charismatic and sensitive interpreter who has been successful in the Timo Mustakallio Song Contest (2023) and the Uuno Klami Composition Competition for Youth and Children (2022).
