Polyteknikkojen Kuoro
Encyclopedia
The Polytech Choir or PK (Polyteknikkojen Kuoro in Finnish
) is an academic male choir
, established in 1900, that performs regularly in Finland
and abroad. Activities of the choir include traditional spring and Christmas concerts, as well as performances with the leading Finnish symphony orchestras
. Juha Kuivanen has been the artistic director of the choir since May 2004.
During the past years, the Polytech Choir has performed on several foreign tours with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
, the Philharmonia
Orchestra of London, and Orchestre national de Lorraine, and at its annual spring and Christmas concerts in Helsinki
and Espoo
. PK's a cappella repertoire is mostly made up of different kinds of classical music from the Romantic era to modern music. At its concerts the Polytech Choir has commissioned and debuted nearly 40 works for male choir during the past 20 years. Most recent first performances have included works from Finnish composers Olli Kortekangas
, Mikko Sidoroff, Markku Klami, Tiina Myllärinen and Jouni Kaipainen
.
Performances with orchestras, quartet singing, music recording and both a traditional and a more entertaining repertoire of male choir music, at diverse events within the community of the Aalto University
, at companies, and at events of the choir itself, are all part of the various activities of the Choir.
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
) is an academic male choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, established in 1900, that performs regularly in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and abroad. Activities of the choir include traditional spring and Christmas concerts, as well as performances with the leading Finnish symphony orchestras
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
. Juha Kuivanen has been the artistic director of the choir since May 2004.
During the past years, the Polytech Choir has performed on several foreign tours with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra is a Finnish orchestra based in Helsinki, and is the chief radio orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company . The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the Helsinki Music Centre...
, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Helsinki, Finland...
, the Philharmonia
Philharmonia
The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...
Orchestra of London, and Orchestre national de Lorraine, and at its annual spring and Christmas concerts in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
and Espoo
Espoo
Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
. PK's a cappella repertoire is mostly made up of different kinds of classical music from the Romantic era to modern music. At its concerts the Polytech Choir has commissioned and debuted nearly 40 works for male choir during the past 20 years. Most recent first performances have included works from Finnish composers Olli Kortekangas
Olli Kortekangas
Olli Kortekangas is a Finnish composer, born on May 16, 1955 in Turku. He currently resides in Espoo, Finland.His early career in music began in Espoon Musiikkiopisto and the youth choir Candomino. His academic studies in music began at the Sibelius Academy as a pupil of Eero Hämeenniemi and...
, Mikko Sidoroff, Markku Klami, Tiina Myllärinen and Jouni Kaipainen
Jouni Kaipainen
Jouni Kaipainen is a Finnish composer.Kaipainen was born in Helsinki. He studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki under Aulis Sallinen and Paavo Heininen.- Works for the Stage :...
.
Performances with orchestras, quartet singing, music recording and both a traditional and a more entertaining repertoire of male choir music, at diverse events within the community of the Aalto University
Aalto University
Aalto University is a Finnish university established on January 1, 2010, by the merger of the Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economics, and the University of Art and Design Helsinki....
, at companies, and at events of the choir itself, are all part of the various activities of the Choir.
Conductors
- Heikki Klemetti (1900-ca. 1905)
- Martti Pitkänen (1910s)
- R.R. Ryynänen (1920s)
- Ossi Elokas (1933-1969)
- Eero Erkkilä (1969-1971)
- Heikki Saari (1971-1984)
- Tapani Länsiö (1984-2004)
- Juha Kuivanen (2004-)
Selected discography
- Toki! (contemporaryContemporary classical musicContemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
Finnish works for male voice choir composed in the 1980s) (1990) - Matkalla - Male Voice Voyage (contemporaryContemporary classical musicContemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
Finnish works for male voice choir composed in the 1990s) (1999) - Me toivotamm (choral works for Christmas, sol. Essi WuorelaEssi WuorelaEssi Wuorela is a Finnish soprano. She is an original member of the ensemble Rajaton since 1997, but also began a solo career in 1994. She studied music at Sibelius High School and later Helsinki Pop & Jazz Conservatory, from which she graduated as a music teacher in 1999...
) (2000) - Vuodet - Polyteknikkojen kuoro 100 vuotta (works performed by the choir during its first century) (2004)
- Mies (National RomanticRomantic nationalismRomantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
, 20th century20th century classical music20th century classical music was without a dominant style and highly diverse.-Introduction:At the turn of the century, music was characteristically late Romantic in style. Composers such as Gustav Mahler and Jean Sibelius were pushing the bounds of Post-Romantic Symphonic writing...
and contemporaryContemporary classical musicContemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
works for male voice choir) (2006) - Kultakausi (Finnish National RomanticRomantic nationalismRomantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
works for male voice choir) (2008) - Joulu on meillä (choral works for Christmas, sol. Matti SalminenMatti SalminenMatti Salminen is a Finnish operatic bass singer, who has sung at all of the most important opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan and Bayreuth Festival....
) (2009)