Fall Activities in Finland

Lara McCoy

With the coming of Fall, which seems to arrive in Finland about a month earlier than it does in New York, comes a new season of activities. As people return to the city, sports teams start scrimmages, orchestras resume rehearsals and all kinds of classes and clubs schedule their first sessions. For me, the real sign that summer was over is the first night of choir practice. My mother is a choral conductor and voice teacher and singing has always been an important part of my life. In Helsinki, I had the good fortune to sing with the Värinä chamber choir, which performed a variety of traditional and contemporary Nordic music. It’s fair to say that most of my knowledge of the Finnish language comes from choir practice – which is probably why I can only count to four.

I was impressed to discover how many amateur chamber choirs exist in the Finnish capital. In the U.S., many people give up hobbies like music or sports after leaving university, but in Finland, it seems that university is when a lot of these hobbies really begin to take off. Värinä, for example, had its origins in a student society whose members wanted to continue singing together after graduation. Other friends of mine played in string quartets or small orchestras also made up of university friends.

I think it’s difficult to maintain ties the same way in the United States because few people stay in the city where they attend university. (New York may be the exception here). I would have loved to continue singing with my university friends after graduation, but we moved all over the country (and the world) to pursue graduate school or work opportunities.

Fortunately, New York is also full of high-level choral groups and I’ve found a new home at Cantori New York, a chamber choir that performs new compositions by contemporary composers. In November, we’ll give the New York premiere of a new work by Caroline Shaw. I am especially excited to sing this concert because in my last year with Värinä, we gave the Finnish premiere of her Pulitzer Prize-winning piece Partita for 8 Voices.

Next season Cantori is considering a piece by the Finnish composer Riikka Talvitie. If we do end up working with her, perhaps a Foundation member would be willing to come by and help us with the pronunciation. My sung Finnish isn’t too bad, but I’ve learned it’s very difficult to get a good sound on ä!