Sibafest – Recovery Tour livens up the pandemic with live music with twenty student concerts
The tour with twenty concerts brings many genres of live music to the audiences.
The stage will be taken by students and teachers of the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki. The biennial Sibafest begins at the Helsinki Music Centre on 17 January 2022 and continues throughout the spring until 5 May 2022 in Helsinki, Järvenpää, Seinäjoki and Kuopio.
Performance is an essential part of studies at the Sibelius Academy, and the Academy organises over 700 concerts a year. During the pandemic, live performances were replaced by online concerts, but as the restrictions allow it, both students and audiences can enjoy authentic live music again.
In spring 2022, Sibafest, which was previously known as a week-long festival, will be organised as a tour that brings the joy of music to all localities in which the Sibelius Academy operates. Sibafest’s children’s concert, which has already become a tradition, will launch the tour on 17 January. The Ötökkäpartio band (English: bug patrol) consisting of students of music education will perform an online concert for children under school age under the guidance of Soili Perkiö and Elisa Seppänen. The concert to be recorded at the Helsinki Music Centre can be viewed free of charge on the YouTube channel of Sibelius Academy.
On 5 February, the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra will perform under the leadership of Professor Sakari Oramo at the Helsinki Music Centre. The concert programme tells a story of a new beginning through the compositions of Gershwin, Brahms and Sibelius. In May, violinist Adrian Ibañez-Resjan, aiming to participate in the Sibelius Violin Competition, will perform as soloist in a concert.
“The pandemic has taught students and us employees the importance of live music and how important it is to be present and to work together. We look forward to a return to a time when we can be a big symphony orchestra again, because our young people have strength,” says Márta Schmidt, coordinator of orchestral activities at Sibelius Academy.
Jazz Club Kolmisointu captivates crowds at the Järvenpää-talo venue on three Thursday nights: 17 February, 7 April and 5 May. The club night performers are Sibelius Academy jazz students led by their teachers. The concerts will be realised jointly with the City of Järvenpää.
Let It Sound! – In the Defunensemblelle concert, you will have the opportunity to hear new contemporary music works by five composer students. The themes of the works are related to the post-pandemic period, in which the restrictions are left behind, there is more freedom and opportunities, but on the other hand, culture is more vulnerable than it has been for a long time. The concert will be held at the Helsinki Music Centre on 30 March.
Sibelius Academy’s NYKY Ensemble and Kekäläinen & Company will present Sanna Kekäläinen’s stage work If I Would Lose My Voice and a selection of Salvatore Sciarrino’s chamber music works at the Helsinki Music Centre between 27 and 28 April. The performance observes the impact of humans on the transformation of the planet and provides an insight into how human activities are changing nature more than ever before.
The concerts of the tour will also be held in Seinäjoki and Kuopio during the spring. The programme information will be published early in the year.
The ninth Sibafest in history
Sibafest, now organised for the ninth time, is the biennial main event of the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki. The event presents the Academy’s internationally high-quality concert activities. Sibafest performers comprise of Sibelius Academy students and teachers. The previous Sibafest, organised in 2020, attracted more than 8,000 listeners.
Ticket sales start on 5 January
The tickets for the first concerts will be available as of 5 January 2022. The rest of the concerts on the tour will be sold individually.
Tickets EUR 18–36 at Ticketmaster and EUR 15–35 at the Helsinki Music Centre. Jazz Club tickets are sold by Lippu.fi.
Concert venues
- Helsinki: Helsinki Music Centre, Sibelius Academy R Building
- Järvenpää: Järvenpää-talo
- Seinäjoki: Kalevan Navetta
- Kuopio: Kuopio Music Centre
We will comply with coronavirus restrictions
Based on an order issued by the Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland, the events of the University of the Arts Helsinki have been cancelled for the public until 17 January 2022. We will comply with the Agency’s guidelines, and the concerts will be arranged live in a safe manner as soon as possible. You can find up-to-date information about the restrictions on our How to visit Uniarts Helsinki’s events safely website.