Recapitulation of Spring 2014

Spring 2014 has been absolutely the most crazy and amazing spring so far in my composer career. Well, already if you consider that I have written 104 blog posts about what happened from the end of February until the beginning of June (so approximately during three month time), I guess that gives you some kind of picture HOW much has been going on… But in case you don’t have time to read all 104 blog posts, I will summarize last spring in one post, partly for my own sake.

So in January I broke up after four years in a relationship, which contributed to my decision to apply for masters in Sweden. I also participated in Vocal Espoo’s choral composition competition.

In February I got to know that both I and also our composer association Tampering had been given grants by the Finnish cultural trust foundation, which was great news!

In February my piece “Expressionen” was performed in Helsinki to a enthusiastic audience.

In March I travelled Tampere-Helsinki-Stockholm-Malmö-Copenhagen-Gothenburg-Stockholm-Helsinki-Tampere for entrance exams at three universities in Sweden (and one day sightseeing in Copenhagen), and got full points in the entrance exam at Malmö.

On the 14th of March I also made my Canadian début with my piece Loco for solo viola, which according to my friend, Canadian composer Paolo Griffin, wasreceived with standing ovations.

In the middle of March I also started writing this blog, A Composers Diary!

In the end of March I both produced and played my own piece Piano Delirium in the “Korvat Auki Tampere” concert in Pietiläsali, in the main library Metso in Tampere.

In April the music theatre production Buss Number 13 including 5 of my pieces, had three performances (and one pre-premiere) at the Tampere Hall, and the last performance was part of the contemporary music festival Tampere Biennale 2014. More over my pieces got a great review in the local newspaper Aamulehti.

In April I also participated in a conducting course, in which I conducted the orchestrated version of my own song cycle Dagbok, and the piece was premiered at the final concert of the course.

In the rest of April I worked as a producer for my own concert. I put together an orchestra, handed out 800 flyers in front of the Tampere Hall, contacted the radio station and two newspapers (which all three made interviews with me about the up coming concert, which was great for getting audience!) and led many of the rehearsals.

Suomen Työväen Musiikkiliitto offered me a publishing contract for my choral piece Kielikurssi for children's’ choir this spring and it will come out next winter!

On the 14th of May I had myfirst composers recital, with over 200 people in the audience and a good review in the daily newspaper Aamulehti. It included premieres of my choral works Visheten and Min Gud.

Moreover in May my piano solo piece Psychedelic was premiered at the composers concert in Tampere and my solo viola piece Loco was performed at the RRR!! Festival in Helsinki.


In addition to all above named I also have written my thesis and defended it, AND written a 10 minute piece for symphony orchestra (while sleeping 2 night on the floor of my school) and have passed my final exams for becoming a composer.

Finally my choral works El jardín de las morenas and Credo have been premiered at the VocalEspoo choral festival, have been awarded third and joint second prize and have been broadcast by the National Finnish Radio Company Yle.

I think I can call it a day. Or a spring, that is to say.

The Day Before The Concert

Tuesday the 13th of May. Tomorrow is my concert “Landet som icke är” (The Land Which Is Not), my first composition recital! First thing in the morning I went and bought today’s copy of the newspaper Aamulehti for reading the interview. Although I of course know what I had answered I always want to know what they chose to write… On the way to the kiosk I bumped in to our caretaker, who had already read the article and said he would come to my concert. I am very flattered, he has probably never been to a contemporary music concert before.

The interview in Aamulehti 13.5. 

We have to keep a Tampering meeting today so that we will officially decide if I get money for paying the choir at my concert or not, and it should be decided before the concert.  But composers, timetables, and busy springs don’t go very well together, and only Matti and Timo were at the meeting. I sent a message to Matilda, to remind her and she said she would be there in half an hour, so we decided to wait, because we need to be four people for meetings to be legal.

While waiting for Matilda the music critic Wilhelm Kvist from Hufvudstadsbladet (the leading Swedish-language newspaper in Finland) phoned and made a short interview for tomorrow’s newspaper.

When Matilda arrived we held the meeting. We also called our chairman Henri, so he “attended” part of the meeting by phone. 

After the meeting, that anyway ended well, I started to bind together the score for my piece “Landet som icke är” which I will be conducting tomorrow. Well, the binding didn’t go that well, as I ended up binding the pages in the wrong order!  Whoops! Finally after trying to obtain a new unbound copy, I was already a few minutes late for the rehearsal.

This time all musicians and singers could come, yes! But my poor viola player had a very severe flu and was feeling like crap. I was for some reason really nervous (maybe after the notesheet copying rumba) and had a really bad day conducting… But the singers Anna Ranki and Julius Martikainen were doing absolutely great, I was really impressed. Also my trumpetist and friend Mari Pakarinen was doing wonderfully and coming in at the right place even though I (as a conductor) kept showing her in at wrong bars, it was so embarrassing! Yep, well I guess I once again was proven that I really should not be nervous when I conduct but instead meditate before and be 100% concentrated in rehearsals.

The rehearsal went so well that we decided to cancel our final rehearsal for tomorrow so that the singers could save their voices and the viola player have more time to rest and take care of her self (and the flu).

After “Landet som icke är” we were again trying together with the music technician Petrus Tuisku to get my electronic pieces “Die Berge” and “Der Wald” to work and this time we also managed to get it to work at about 23 o’clock!  I don’t know which of us was more relieved. But we still are both a bit worried about tomorrow, because there is an exam in the concert venue before my concert that ends at 16:00 and the orchestra will arrive for a dress rehearsal at 17.00 so there isn’t much time to set up all the electronics and recording equipment…

After this I headed home. Mari is staying over at my place this night (as she doesn’t live in Tampere anymore), so I let her sleep and went into the kitchen and continued writing the programme booklet for the concert. It has to be done before tomorrow morning, so I have to send it off tonight.

My rabbit Viljo was very happy to get company, and he is also otherwise always very active at night. I don’t know why, maybe because it’s spring, but he has the past month taken a habit of trying to hump my feet (especially when I wear white woolen socks). So when I crossed my legs for making it easier to keep the laptop in my lap while writing, I would every 5 minutes have a humping rabbit at my foot, which was really annoying! So I would put down my foot for a while (then he leaves me in piece) and after a while cross the other leg and off he went again!

My rabbit Viljo chewing his own feet. © Cecilia Damström

Well at 5 A.M. I was finally done and sent of the programme. It was in word format 40 pages long!!! But I am so happy still: I will receive free help from Tarja Reijonen who works for TAMK and Tampere Conservatory doing programmes and posters (among other stuff). If I would have had to think about the layout I would never have made it in time! Very exhausted but happy, I wished a disappointed Viljo good night.

"Already going to bed?" my rabbit Viljo wonders. © Cecilia Damström

Suomen Kultturirahasto

On Thursday the 27th  of February it was the 75th anniversary celebration of the Finnish Cultural Foundation (Suomen kulttuurirahasto). The celebration was organized at the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki. Both the composer society Tampering of which I am a founding member, as well as I myself were awarded a grant this year, so I am very happy! Tampering got 15.000 euros for getting started and for organizing concerts. I got 4.500 euros for attending Doctor Samuel Adler’s composition course at Freie Universität Berlin for six weeks in the summer 2014. .I’m really looking forward to the summer course!

After the official party at the Finlandia Hall, I went with my friend Matilda Seppälä (also a founding member of Tampering) to Urkki. There we met among others the pianist Risto-Matti Marin, the conductor Atso Almila (now head teacher of conducting at the Sibelius Academy), the composer Yrjö Hjelt, the composer Kimmo Kuitunen and the editor of sheet music Kari Vehmainen. Later on we met and were introduced to the composer Kalevi Aho as well. It was a very nice evening and I am glad to have met all these friendly people!

Thank You SKR!