Master class on Russian chromatic kantele for Finnish professionals
On 25 September 2021 the master class on chromatic kantele was held for students of the Sibelius Academy (University of the Arts, Helsinki, Finland). The chromatic kantele was invented in the Soviet Karelia and was never played in Finland except for some kantele players of Russian origin. The Kantele-GO! project arranged a special program in order to explain the main features of the chromatic kantele construction and chromatic kantele music to the Finnish kantele players.
The first part of the program introduced the chromatic kantele in a short concert program that included 14 different music pieces performed by duo, trio and quartet of kantele players as well as by solo performers. The concert program consisted of plays for chromatic kantele by Maksim Gavrilov, Valentina Matveeva, Sergei Stangrit, Irina Shishkanova, Elena Magnitskaya and arrangements of folk tunes by Sergei Borisov and Elena Magnitskaya. The Kantele-GO! project manager Olga Vlasova informed the Finnish participants on history and construction of chromatic kantele.
The second part of the program was devoted to the basics of chromatic kantele performing. Kantele teachers Ekaterina Ivanova (Petrozavodsk Children’ Music School #1 named after Gelmer Sinisalo) and Nadezhda Drobyshevskaya (School of Arts of the Republic of Karelia) showed the examples of fingering and sound production using some of famous chromatic kantele music pieces.
Finnish kantele players expressed their interest to chromatic kantele thanks to the Kantele-GO! project and its constant participant and expert Hanna Ryynänen. The master classes were arranged by the Kantele – GO! project and its lead partner the Karelian Song and Dance Ensemble “Kantele” together with Anna-Karin Korhonen, a musician, a composer and a kantele teacher at the Sibelius Academy, and Hanna Ryynänen, a kantele player, a composer, a kantele teacher and the Kantele-GO! participant who also gave immediate feedback on the master classes:
“The masterclass was really successful and professionally arranged. The feedback from the Finnish students was really positive. They already asked for another workshop, they were eager to learn more! Please send my greetings also to the fantastic teachers of the masterclass! “.
The Kantele-GO! project is grateful to the art director of the Karelian National Song and Dance Ensemble “Kantele” and a kantele teacher Elena Magnitskaya and her students Maria Fedotova and Anna Tiutriumova, the “Kantele” Ensemble artists Ekaterina Ivanova and Aleksandra Borodenko, kantele teacher Nadezhda Drobyshevskaya and her students Daria Serapionova, Ekaterina Petrova, Sasha Kotova and Ksenia Alekseeva for participating in the program.
Project partners: The Karelian National Song and Dance Ensemble Kantele (Russia), University of Eastern Finland, Runosong Academy (Finland), National School of Arts named after V. Kalaberda of Pryazha District (Russia).
The Kantele-GO! project is financed by the European Union, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Finland within the framework of the Karelia CBC Programme.
