* * * * *
The spirit and customs of the Tapiola Choir are passed on from one generation of singers to the next. The Choir relies on five principal ideas that were crystallized when it was first founded:
A characteristic sound based on Finnish voice production and adapted to the repertoire
The sound of the Tapiola Choir stems from the personal voices of the children and adolescents who are its members, shaped by their mother tongue. Voice carries text, and pronouncing text is just as natural as producing voice in the first place. The sound ideal sought here could be compared to a string orchestra. It is typically warm, lucid, sensitive and wide-ranged — but powerful too when required. To be an individual yet to know how to blend — this is the core of singing in the Tapiola Choir.
Rich combination of singing, instruments, dramaturgy and movement
The Tapiola Choir educates not singers but musicians. Every child entering the Choir either plays or is guided to play an instrument too. Each member has his or her turn as a soloist or an accompanist or in giving the initial pitches in concert.
The Choir has been performing dramatized or choreographed pieces since the 1970s. The danced folk song medley Ryytimaa (Herbal Garden), the shifting forms of Primitive Music by Jukka Linkola and the staged choral opera Marjatta matala neiti (Marjatta, Lowly Maiden) by Einojuhani Rautavaara captivate audiences all around the world.
Repertoire of our own; or, collaboration with contemporary composers
Ever since the 1960s, the Tapiola Choir has sought to collaborate with Finland’s most distinguished composers and several foreign ones too. For the composer, this represents an opportunity to work on the composition together with the singers and to explore the potential of young voices. This approach has generated a new genre of repertoire of extremely high quality, completely devoid of the mannerisms of ‘music for children’.
International activities
Internationalization was initially only a feature of the Choir’s repertoire, but eventually the Choir found itself touring abroad too.
In the year 1971 the choir won the Silver Rose Bowl, the highest honour of the BBC Let the Peoples Sing competition , and in the year 1996 it was the first music organization to be awarded 'The UNESCO Prize for the Promotion of the Performing Arts'.
The Choir has undertaken more than 60 international tours, three of them circumnavigating the globe. In addition to Europe, tours have taken the Choir to the USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. The Choir has sung in more than 40 languages, as it follows an uncompromising policy of always singing foreign songs in their original language.
Capacity of the choir members for independence and responsibility
Every child and adolescent who is a member of the Tapiola Choir is considered as an individual. All new members are assigned a ‘mentor’ who helps them in rehearsals and instructs them in how the Choir works. The Choir’s Artistic Director and Chaperone are also always present at rehearsals to answer any questions that choir members may have. The purpose of all this is to guarantee a stable and safe environment where a growing child can learn that he or she is important. This gives scope for his or her initiative and healthy self-confidence to develop.
