Centria’s autumn concert season once again delights with its diversity
Centria University of Applied Sciences’ music degree programme once again offers music lovers in Kokkola a diverse selection of free concerts throughout the autumn. As usual, the concerts will mainly take place on Thursdays at 7 p.m. in the Fordell Hall at the Snellman Music Centre.
Admission to the autumn concerts is free, with the exception of the Grand String Orchestra Concert on 3 December, organised in collaboration with the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra (KPKO). The concert will be conducted by KPKO’s new Artistic Director Kasmir Uusitupa, and musicians from KPKO will be joined by string players from Centria and the Central Ostrobothnia Conservatory. Tickets for the concert are available from Netticket.fi.
The concert season kicks off on Tuesday, 29 September with Centria Night Music, a promenade concert held in Fordell Hall from 6 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. Students and teachers will take to the stage to perform music across a wide range of genres. You can stay for the whole evening or just drop in for a while, as the audience is free to leave the hall between performances.
On Thursday, 8 October, the traditional Face to Face concert will be organised in collaboration with the Central Ostrobothnia Conservatory, featuring gems of chamber music. On Thursday, 22 October, the Clara, Robert and Hugo concert will feature lieder by Clara and Robert Schumann and Hugo Wolf. Folk music will take centre stage at the Grand Folk Music Concert on Thursday, 12 November. Folk music will also be featured in the visiting concert Tuultenpesä: Hemvist, likewise organised in collaboration with the Central Ostrobothnia Conservatory.
Current topics in music pedagogy will be discussed at Music Pedagogy Day on Thursday, 5 November.
Audiences can enjoy powerful performances by graduating vocalists from the pop and jazz department at the Central Ostrobothnia Conservatory Concert Hall. Kristiina Hallantie will perform her concert Dangerous Woman on Friday, 23 October, while Leena Lehto’s concert Mielen maisemia will take place on Friday, 18 December. Centria’s pop and rock bands will perform two concerts on Tuesday, 10 November and Wednesday, 11 November in the main lecture hall at Centria’s Talonpojankatu Campus.
Families have not been forgotten either. In collaboration with the Loistavaa Children’s and Young People’s Culture Week, the story-based concert Magdaleena iloa etsimässä will be held on Friday, 6 November at the Central Ostrobothnia Conservatory Concert Hall. The concert will also serve as Sini Merkkiniemi-Nurminen’s final recital. Classical music will be featured in the Instrumentalists’ Evening on Thursday, 19 November in Fordell Hall. The same venue will host mezzo-soprano Tarja Korkeakangas on Thursday, 26 November in the concert Tunteiden virta.
In December, lovers of classical vocal music can enjoy the Alma, Gustav and Franz concert on Thursday, 10 December, featuring lieder by Alma and Gustav Mahler and Franz Schubert. The festive season will begin in earnest with the Christmas Carols concert on Thursday, 17 December in Fordell Hall, bringing together all of Centria’s singers.
During the autumn, Centria will also collaborate with the Central Ostrobothnia Chamber Opera, with Centria’s vocal students taking part in a production of G. B. Pergolesi’s comic opera La serva padrona on Saturday, 17 October at the Central Ostrobothnia Conservatory. Another collaboration will take place with the Finnish Parish of Kokkola on Thursday, 26 November, when folk musician Tuija Pasanen will perform old Finnish hymns and psalms at Kaarlela Church.