Finnish-American Music,
Live at the Festival

We are preparing quite a program . . .

and here are some of the musicians we've scheduled!

• The West Coast Korsu Choir, is a 15-member choir accompanied by an accordianist and directed by Pastor Jukka Joensuu. Formed in 1998, in Vancouver, B.C., the choir has performed at the Finnish-Canadian Grand Festival in Burnaby, B.C., in 1999 and during the FinnFest in Toronto in 2000. There they won the Cultural Award, presented annually to the group or person who promotes the Finnish cultural heritage. They will tour Finland this year. The choir, dressed in military uniforms, mainly sings war-time songs of 1939-1945 as a special honor to the Finnish War Veterans who fought to preserve Finland's independence. Often called the Bunker Choir because KORSU were dugouts built behind more stationary front lines by the Finns. Besides sleeping bunks and cooking facilites, they often included a sauna where the troops could rest and relax between their turns in the trenches.
• The Mannisto Family Musicians is a Seattle-based groups consisting of parents Heikki and Eva, daughter Maria, and son Peter. The parents hail from Helsinki and are dual citizens of the U.S. and Finland. The parents perform duets of traditional Finnish folk songs. Daughter Maria is a voice major at the University of Washington and is a Finlandia Foundation Seattle Chapter scholarship winner. Peter, also a U of W student, studies the violin and the great Sibelius Violin Concerto.
• Livakat Northwest Kantele Players from Portland, Oregon, features ten musicians — including Wilho Saari of Naselle. This group began as the result of a kantele workshop given in connection with FinnFest 1999 in Seattle. Satu Mikkola, who attended the workshop, was inspired to spearhead workshops in the Portland area in 1999 and 2002. The Livakat consists of players who attended these workshops. In 2002 the Messiah Finnish Lutheran church of Portland, in celebration of their 100th year, made a CD Toinen Vuosisata (Second Century). Half of the numbers on the CD are played by the Livakat kantele group. This CD is on sale at Finnware booth in the Tori. This past February the Livakat took part in FinnFest 2004 in Lake Worth, where they gave two afternoon concerts of traditional Finnish folk music. They also performed a Kantele Mass at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church. They've repeated this Kantele Mass at the Finnish Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, B.C.
• The Brownsmead Flats bring their own style of Community/Folk/Family music to audiences in the Pacific Northwest. John Fenton, Ned Heavenrich, Ray Raihala, Robert Stevens, and Dan Sutherland perform live, and Denise Raihala joins in on their CDs. They make their homes in Brownsmead, Oregon, which lies across the Columbia from Naselle. The elevated areas surrounding Blind Slough were settled by Finns in the late 1800s. When the dikes were built, more people moved in and the whole community became known as Brownsemad. Family and community gatherings always include a feast. After nourishing with food, out come the musical instruments such as the harmonica, banjo, and fiddle, nourishing with music. The Brownsmead Flats' music is a reflection of, and tribute to, a community of friends and families who gather together to share food, music, dancing, and laughter. Their CD Potluck features music and lyrics written by members of this group, and includes waltzes, polkas, and a sauna song composed by Ray Raihala. Rain consists of nearly all original compositions, and takes as subject something all-too-familiar to Finns (and others) in the area.
• Richard Ellis is an honorary Finn by marriage to Margie Wirkkala Ellis. He has sung both opera and sacred music.
• The Naselle Children's Choir has been a highlight of our festivals since 1982. Many of the children have Finnish-American roots, but none speak Finnish at home. Through the rehearsals they learn to pronounce and sing in Finnish. They also brush up on performance skills and etiquette, wear costumes made by their mothers or passed down by friends, and sing out enthusiastically both in English and Finnish.
• Directed by our honorary Finn, Cliff Weimer, the Naselle Choir sings familiar Finnish songs and also swings to a gospel beat. Since 1982, the choir has anchored the festival, singing in both Finnish and English. Although many members have a Finnish-American background, few still speak Finnish at home so it is always a challenge learning both the music and pronunciation for the festival. Cliff Weimer has anchored the choir as director for many years and continues to inspire us.
  Finland's music education is number one in the world now, according to musical experts, and that tradition has been honored here in Naselle with our church choirs and elementary choirs. On any given week in Finland, 20,000 Finns rehearse with some choir. Here in Naselle, at least six choirs rehearse weekly leading up to our festival.

• Accordian Dreams: Dorothy Mason and Coreen Bergholm have played together in different bands on the North Coast of Oregon for ten years. Christine Berney often joins them with her clear strong soprano voice. Although neither Coreen nor Dorothy come from a Finnish background (Coreen is Norwegian; Dorothy is Spanish-Greek Canadian), they have always been interested in accordion music which led them first to Scandinavian music and the fine Finnish dance music with its jigs, reels, and waltzes.
• Suomi Sisters Patsy Harbaugh, violin, and Sharon Laulainen, voice, play and sing familiar popular Finnish tunes that have made a big hit with audiences in Finnish lodges in the Northwest. They reminisce between numbers, and their humor lightens the music.
• Barb's Barbershop Gal Pals: These friends of Barbara Swanson are always eager to sing as they have so willingly in Sweet Adelines. They are especially pleased to be able to attend our festival which they learned about their friend, Barbara. Rosie Johnson, who has always wanted a barbershop quartet for our festival, this one's for you!
• Ed Downs will be playing his father's horn, bought back in 1948. His father, a physician, "gave me my love for the horn," Ed says. Ed grew up playing it in his high school and college band and took it up again in his late 20s. Working as a general contractor, he still found time to travel throughout the west with a group from Nevada/ Utah called, "The Heaven Bound Singers." Ed has produced two CDs of gospel music which are on sale at Finnware in the Tori. Today Ed shares some of his challenging favorites.
• Sylvia Storaasli and her Fjordsong Band from the Tacoma are our favorite dance band performing at the festival. This group plays traditional Finnish dance music such as the Vagabond Waltz and the Western Logger and also humpa, polkas, schottisches, and any number of other dances including the Texas Two Step and the ever popular Chicken Dance. We are so pleased to welcome them back to our festival!
• Sylvia Storaasli and her Fjordsong Band from the Tacoma are our favorite dance band performing at the festival. This group plays traditional Finnish dance music such as the Vagabond Waltz and the Western Logger and also humpa, polkas, schottisches, and any number of other dances including the Texas Two Step and the ever popular Chicken Dance. We are so pleased to welcome them back to our festival!
• Rebecca Wirkkala is an accomplished amateur flutist who graduated from Naselle High School a number of years ago. She has performed at past festivals with a repertoire ranging from Finnish hymns to the music of Seattle's late, great composer Alan Hovhaness. This year she performs Thursday, at the Deep River Lutheran Church, in a recital in memory of her mother, Selma Wirkkala, who was a well-known community activist with deep ties to the Finnish-American community.
• Saari Family Musicians consists of Wilho Saari, his sister May Adair, and his daughter Karen Saari Nelson — an expert kantele trio playing Finnish folk music, hymns, and music composed by Wilho. Wilho's advocacy of the kantele is known around the world, and this group is a blessing to the Naselle community. Note the different playing styles: who plays with the shorter strings closer to the musician (Perhojoki style) and who plays with the longer strings closer to the player (Haapavesi style)? You have to watch as well as listen to find out! (Also: Karen's husband, Greg, is a fine maker of kanteles, a selection of which you can view in the Kantele Room in the West wing of the school.)

Schedule and performers subject to change before the festival. Please return.