Pielinen Soi is a new and youthful addition to the Finnish summer festival calendar. Talented young Finnish performers will present mainly rarely heard Finnish chamber music in eight concerts held throughout Lieksa, Koli and Juuka: at Koli peak, churches in Juuka and Lieksa, the Lieksa cultural center, and the Paateri chapel at the Atelier home ‘Paateri’ of sculptors Eva and Paavo Paateri.
Pielinen Soi will be held from 26 June to 13 Sep., surrounding the already established Lieksa Brass Week to round out the summer’s cultural offering in Northern Karelia. Soloists will include folk musician Sanna Kurki-Suonio, soprano Laura Pyrrö and baritone Esa Ruuttunen. Other performers include Andreas Helling, cello, Rait Karm, piano, Elisa Kerola, kantele, Mari Mäntylä, decacorde, Petteri Pitko, harpsichord, with Ensemble U3 (Berlin), Seeli Toivio, cello, and the 7 siblings of the Makkonen family, including Jussi Makkonen, cello, Liisa Makkonen, violin and Matti Makkonen, cello.
The Makkonen family ensemble is comprised of the seven siblings of the Makkonen family: Matti, Maija, Anna, Antti, Liisa, Leena and Jussi, and their spouses and children. Six of the siblings now work as professional musicians. The siblings, who grew up in Lieksa, performed in over 100 concerts during the 1980’s and 90’s both throughout Finland and abroad (concert trips to Austria, France, Germany, Russia and Estonia, for example). The family held Christmas concerts for thirteen consecutive years in Lieksa, from 1986-1998, and these concert programs were saved for posterity in 2000 on the ensemble’s recording ‘Olkihimmeli’.
After a break of ten years, the Makkonen ensemble, whose former members now work throughout Finland, have came together to performed at the 2008 Pielinen Soi concert series. The ensemble invited other professional musicians originially from Lieksa to join them – such as Elisa Kerola and Anni Kuusimaki. It has been promised that the concert series will continue after summers 2008 and 2009.
