The Sibelius Academy

The National Arts Centre Orchestra presents the 2022 Northern Cadence International Jazz Series : three mini jazz concerts from three schools in three different countries!

The Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, the Manhattan School of Music in New York, USA, and the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, Canada, have prepared 30-minute concerts featuring their faculty and students performing original and standard repertoire together. 

Inspired by the NAC Orchestra’s 2022 Tour, Truth in Our Time, in which NACO presents the world premiere of Philip Glass’s newest work, each school’s jazz ensemble will select repertoire based around this theme.

The Kari Ikonen Ensemble

PROGRAM

Luna 17B - Part I, Kari Ikonen

Varhaat, Lassi Friman

Joe’s Blues, Jesse Vilhomaa

Unreal, Antti Ahoniemi

Snowed in, Casimir Ekman

Quarter-Life Crisis, Juho Valjakka

Luna 17B - part II, Kari Ikonen

The ensemble plays handpicked originals, well-known melodies and tunes from all over the world. The arrangements celebrate the tunes but also allow the ensemble to interpret them organically and a little differently every time, respecting the source but letting the freedom flourish and updating the music every time they play.

The Kari Ikonen Ensemble

Kari Ikonen, leader, Moog

Juho Valjakka, piano

Lassi Friman, guitar

Jesse Vilhomaa, alto saxophone

Antti Ahoniemi, bass

Kasper Halttunen, drums

QUESTION PERIOD (20 minutes) 

The SIBELIUS ACADEMY

The Sibelius Academy is part of the University of the Arts, together with the Academy of Fine Arts and the Theatre Academy in Helsinki, Finland. The jazz department in Sibelius Academy offers the highest jazz education in Finland. With our around 40 students the department is a small and very high-level community of young like-minded jazz talents. In addition to studies, we organize concerts, have our yearly festival DIG., and work closely in cooperation with other jazz organizations in Finland. The “Sibis Jazz” is also an active part of the International Association of Schools of Jazz (IASJ). In fall 2023, we will celebrate the 40th anniversary of jazz tuition at Sibelius Academy. We are so happy and honoured to be part of this collaboration along with the two other prestigious institutions.

Join us in these casual jazz encounters where three schools collide and learn from each other. Audience participation is encouraged! Ask your questions in the chat during the live session.

On April 2, the three 30-minute concerts will be featured as a 90-minute concert, presented by the NAC and live streamed from our website and on Facebook.

About NACO’s Truth In Our Time 2022 Tour

NACO is back on the road this spring with the Truth in Our Time 2022 Tour, making stops in Toronto, New York, and Ottawa.

Under the direction of Alexander Shelley, and featuring violin soloists James Ehnes (Gramophone Artist of the Year 2021) and Blake Pouliot, NACO presents the world premiere of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13, a work commissioned by the Orchestra on the theme “Truth in Our Time”, as well as exhilarating and moving pieces by Canadian composer Nicole Lizée, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Erich Korngold. Celebrate with us this exciting orchestral experience!

Philip Glass’s moving Symphony No 13 is a tribute to Canadian-American journalist Peter Jennings. Mr. Jennings was not only a highly respected news anchor for ABC News, he was also a trustee of Carnegie Hall during his years in New York City, the founding director of the American chapter of the Friends of the NAC Orchestra, and served as a lifelong champion of Canadian artists.