Wilho Saari, master of the Finnish kantele, will perform Friday, October 2nd in Brechemin Auditorium at 7:00pm. Mr. Saari, from Naselle, Washington was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2006. He is a fifth generation performer on the kantele (a plucked zither), which many consider to be the national instrument of Finland. Mr. Saari was Finlandia Foundation’s Performer of the Year in 2011, and he plays both traditional music and his own compositions on the kantele.
Mr. Saari will be joined for this concert by the Finnish Choral Society of Seattle. They will continue this year’s celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of legendary Finnish composer Jean Sibelius with a performance of several of his pieces, along with those of other Finnish composers.
There is a suggested donation of $5 for the concert, admission is free for students.
This concert is one of a series of public programs associated with the national exhibit, Extraordinary Ordinary People: American Masters of Traditonal Arts, now on display at Jack Straw Cultural Center through November 30th. Wilho Saari is an artist featured in this exhibit, and will also play his kantele in the front gallery of Jack Straw Cultural Center on Saturday, October 3rd from 11:00 – 3:00pm. For more information go to: www.jackstraw.org
Presented by Northwest Heritage Resources, in partnership with Jack Straw Cultural Center, and funded in part by the Finlandia Foundation, 4Culture, ArtsWA, Humanities Washington and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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