The Song and music festival – with roots and wings
The planning of the repertoire for the Song and music festival is progressing well, and the frameworks for the main concert, the opening event, and the rhythm choir concert PULS are beginning to take shape.
The repertoire planning for the Song and music festival is now advancing at a good pace. The discussions within the artistic leadership team have been many, long, and inspiring, and the outlines for the main concert, the opening event, and the rhythm choir concert PULS are now coming together. But there's still a lot of work to be done to find the missing pieces of the puzzle.
Naturally, the selection of music is the most important issue. At this song festival, communal singing will have a slightly larger emphasis than at the last one. Additionally, the goal is for choirs to perform more pieces with orchestral accompaniment alongside a cappella arrangements. The repertoire will include new arrangements, new compositions, classical works, and folk music.
The general theme of the festival this time revolves around roots and wings – concepts that relate to questions of who we are, where we come from, and how we relate to each other and the world, as well as the larger question of where we’re headed. We have our roots, which help us spread our wings, fly high, and see far.
Structurally, the 2026 Song festival will undergo a change described as “bold.” A major shift is moving the festival’s focus from Sunday to Saturday. At the same time, the festival will become slightly shorter. The positive experiences from 2022 are being taken into consideration, and the elements that worked best will be strengthened. We’ve listened to the feedback from last time and made decisions we believe will support the future of the Song and music festival.
Kari Turunen, Artistic Director (Photo: Frida Lönnroos)
Music is at the center of the song festival, and with the commitment of choirs and orchestras, we are doing our utmost to support choir and orchestra leaders with inspiring songs, carefully selected instrumental pieces, early access to sheet music, and a new audio file player developed especially for the festival.
When the music sounds good and we feel a sense of meaning, we can experience the best of coming together and spending time through music. We build connections with the larger audience and public, helping to portray choral singing as a relevant part of society. And we do this in Swedish, outdoors, in beautiful summer weather.
We, who are currently working in groups on the musical planning, are a strong team of passionate individuals. The music committees of the special associations for male choirs, female choirs, and mixed choirs are developing the repertoire that the choirs will perform at the main celebration. FSSMF’s music committee leads the discussions with the other music committees. Everyone collaborates with the artistic leadership team, which consists of Hanna Kronqvist, Ida Olsonen, Karin Pedersen, and Kari Turunen, who chairs the group and serves as the festival’s artistic director.
For choirs, the festival begins on Friday at 12 PM and ends on Sunday at 2 PM. This means that two nights are sufficient, and everyone will have time to catch buses and trains on Sunday.
So, mark the festival dates in your calendars and reserve plenty of time to rehearse the material in advance. See you at the square in 2026!
Kari Turunen, Artistic Director
Henrik Lillhannus, Executive Director
(Published in Resonans 1–2024)
Program highlights:
Thursday, June 11: Choir Conductors’ Day. Inspiration, beautiful music, interesting speakers, and discussions between conductors.
Friday, June 12: Choir rehearsal at Kansalaistori in front of Oodi. Orchestra rehearsals. Wind/brass orchestra concert in front of Oodi. Opening concert in front of Oodi. String orchestra concert at the Cathedral. Profile concerts in the evening.
Saturday, June 13: General rehearsal at Kansalaistori in front of Oodi. Song festival parade. Main concert in front of Oodi.
Sunday, June 14: Music worship service in cooperation with Finlands svenska Kyrkosångsförbund. Children’s and youth concert at Kansalaistori in front of Oodi. Rhythm choir concert PULS in front of Oodi.