The new year starts with a bang here, couple of nice projects coming up + a new record in the works:

-Just finished couple of orchestral arrangements for the vocal ensemble Club for Five, first performance with the great Tapiola Sinfonietta in May:

https://www.espoo.fi/fi/tapahtumat/espooevents:agj37sfu74

-I’ll be conducting Vaasa City Orchestra in an all new project, highlighting the Beatles classics. Also will be writing half of the arrangements with Rafa Nyqvist:

https://www.vaasa.fi/koe-ja-nae/kulttuuria-vaasassa-ja-seudulla/vaasan-kaupunginorkesteri/beatles-2-0/

-A new Jussi Lampela Ensemble record is coming in the fall, featuring Jukka Eskola and Teppo Mäkynen!

All kinds of things coming up, and finally we also have the first concert with the Mimmit-orchestra with Tapiola Sinfonietta:

https://www.espoo.fi/fi/tapahtumat/espooevents:aghq5ko7eu

Also happy to have three tracks recorded with Jyväskylä Sinfonia and Tuomo Rannankari, on Tuomo’s new album, here’s one of them:

We had an intense two days recording with the mighty Tapiola Sinfonietta, for the Mimmit-band! The end result will be a radioplay for the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE, and also a record release at some point.

Can’t wait to hear the end result! Tapiola Sinfonietta is a marvellous orchestra, and it’s a priviledge to work with them.

Some pictures below, with me and the project mastermind Pauliina Lerche.

Thrilled to be accompanying a silent film with Ostrobothnia Rhythm Orchestra in a couple of weeks! I wrote music to a Finnish silent film “Meren Kasvojen Edessä” a few years ago, and now we’re presenting a new version of it with a 13-piece orchestra.

We’ll be at Vaasa on August 23rd, details here:

https://ritz.fi/fi/event/film-concert-meren-kasvojen-edessa/

My arranging course for this year is set for an international audience. I’m having four sessions in August on consecutive Saturdays, starting on August 3rd. Please check from the link below for more specific times and for more info:

Arranging course mini-site:

…or as it often is in Finland, it’s pretty chilly until we get to about July:) Exciting things ahead anyway:

We’re performing music for an old Finnish silent film, Meren Kasvojen Edessä (1926), together with our Ostrobothnian Rhythm Orchestra in August in Vaasa, Finland. I’ve composed this a while ago for a smaller ensemble, but now we’re performing it with a 13-piece ensemble. Should be fun, and the movie itself is an exciting adventure! More here:

https://ritz.fi/event/film-concert-meren-kasvojen-edessa/

I’m also happy to conduct Tapiola Sinfonietta a couple of times in the fall period, together with Mimmit-group. We’ll be recording music for a radioplay, and there’s gonna be a concert later on in November also. Here:

https://www.espoo.fi/en/events/espooevents:aghq5ko7eu

Happy New Year! The coming year is filled with interesting things, can’t wait to get to work on all of them! We’ll be recording some new material with Jukka Eskola and Teppo Mäkynen, the release will be later this year. Also lots of different arranging and orchestration things in the pipeline, and a trip to Sweden in March with Allegro Big Band.

And excited to hear my new work for cello, voice and saxophone, featuring my dear wife on cello and my former teacher, Jukka Perko, on saxophone. Concert on the February 2nd:

https://kamariorkesteri.fi/kamarimusiikkisarja-paikan-henki-hetkia-kirkon-vuosisadoilta/

Internet did its magic: I got a contact from Iowa State University, more precisely its jazz studies leader Mike Giles, who wanted to feature my big band composition “Good Night and Good Luck” on their upcoming concert. Would be nice to hop over there to listen, but geography might put a stop on that. Anyway, Thanks Mike!

The new year is upon us, some new things cooking as well. I am currently putting together new material for a project that will include trumpeter Jukka Eskola and drummer Teppo Mäkynen, stay tuned for that. In early January I finished a 15 minute work for a string orchestra, commissioned by violinist Kreeta-Maria Kentala.

Also working on a new big band-project for the Air Force Big Band here in Finland, that will get its first performance in 2024-2025 season. The work will feature live visuals, so there are a lot of things to consider. The visuals are designed by the magnificent video artist Arash Irandoust!

Will also be working with the Air Force BB as an instructor, in guiding the Sibelius-Academy wind conducting class to the secrets of how to conduct a big band.

I’m happy to release an album’s worth of new music, under Jussi Lampela Ensemble! 8 tracks are available today at most streaming sites, go ahead and have a listen:

https://songwhip.com/jussilampelaensemble/jussi-lampela-ensemble

The personnel for the album is the following:

Reijo Tunkkari, vln (1,2,3,4,5,7,8)

Annica Heino, vln (1,2,3,4,5,7,8)

Hanna Pakkala, vla (1,2,7,8)

Ari Hanhikoski, vla (3,4,5)

Ulla Lampela, cello (1,2,3,4,5,7,8)

Jonas Kuhlberg, el. bass

Timo Roiko-Jokela, drums/percussion

+ a special guest on “Surly Bonds”: Jukka Eskola, trumpet

Mixing: Tommi Vainikainen (1,2,4,6,7,8), Miikka Huttunen (3), Markus Isojärvi (5)

Artwork: Pirkko Mäkelä-Haapalinna