the north american choral company presents:
Aglepta - Magic Music
With Guest Conductor Kari Ala- Pöllänen from Finland
Sunday, February 11, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.
Cathedral of St. Andrew
265 Sheldon Ave., Grand Rapids, MI 49503
The north american choral company is pleased and excited to host world renown children’s and youth choir conductor Kari Ala-Pöllänen, the director of the Tapiola Choir in Finland. Ala-Pöllänen will spend a week in February visiting West Michigan and working with the north american choral company’s choirs as well as leading a workshop for conductors, singers, music educators, musicians and music students. The time will conclude with Aglepta – Magic Music, a breathtaking concert of unique and demanding Finnish and Nordic music never performed in Michigan before, conducted by this visionary director! 
At the concert the north american choral company’s children’s and youth choirs will sing traditional and contemporary Finnish and Swedish pieces in the original languages. You will hear the beautiful Finnish folk song How Lonely is Your Shore (On suuri sun rantas autius), a traditional Kalevala melody accompanied by kantele, the national instrument of Finland, a wild joik from Lappland, the charming Lorca Suite by Eino-Juhani Rautavaara, the melancholy Swedish folk songs Vem kan segla and Visa från Utanmyra (Quiet Solitude) as well as the avant garde title piece Aglepta, by the Swedish composer Aarne Mellnäs.
The north american choral company’s artistic director Sanna Valvanne is a former singer, vocal trainer and assistant of the Tapiola Choir and Ala-Pöllänen. She is most delighted to have her dear mentor and one of her greatest influences come and share his genius with the young singers and audiences in Grand Rapids. Valvanne will be conducting the concert along side with Ala-Pöllänen, both dressed in the Finnish national costumes, bringing an authentic Finnish touch to the performance. The choirs will build a bridge between the Nordic and the English speaking cultures also by performing a gospel piece and an Irish song, conducted by Sean Ivory, the long-time conductor of the Choral Company’s oldest singers.
Ala-Pöllänen has directed the respected Tapiola Choir for twelve years, succeeding the eminent Erkki Pohjola who was the founder and long time conductor of the choir. Pohjola developed the Tapiola Choir from its beginnings in 1963 as an ordinary Finnish school choir into an artistic and pedagogical instrument renown through the international choral community. Ala-Pöllänen has further shaped the group into an even more versatile educational institute in touch with our time, continuing its extensive international travel with presentations and festival participation around the world. Collaborations between many top composers and artists with the Tapiola Choir have resulted in a transformation of the concept of youth choirs and children’s choir repertoire to make it a respectable and serious art form around the world. Under Pohjola and Ala-Pöllänen, the Tapiola Choir has recorded over 20 discs, appeared on dozens of compilations and has received numerous awards, including the Silver Rose Bowl from the BBC and the UNESCO Prize for the Promotion of the Performing Arts.
Over the years, Ala-Pöllänen and Pohjola have developed the Tapiola Choir into the group which is now known for its excellent, adventuresome, magical and distinctive sound, identified as the Tapiola Sound. It is a trademark and phenomena that choirs and conductors around the world admire, imitate and desire to replicate. Ala-Pöllänen, known for his warm, humble and down to earth character will reveal the keys to his work with choirs and the secrets of the Tapiola Sound in the workshop on February 10 and 11. West Michigan will undoubtedly be enthralled during the final concert on Sunday, February 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the splendor of the Cathedral of St. Andrew!
Additional information about the workshop is available from the north american choral company. Concert tickets may be purchased in advance through the office ($12 adult; $10 student) or at the door the night of the concert ($14 adult; $12 student). For more information: 616.774.9268, email: nacc@iserv.net