Kantele Day in Kanneltalo

This year, Kantele Day will be celebrated with an international seminar and webinar, Road to UNESCO.

On Saturday, 14 September, Kantele Day, in addition to a festive seminar, easy-to-join pop-up kantele workshops and kantele-accompanied yoga sessions are held in Kanneltalo.

Agenda of the day:

9:30 am – 4:00 pm Road to UNESCO seminar
11 am – 2 pm Workshops (schedule below)
3-4 pm Kantele Yoga Classes, Gallery, Arja Kastinen

Representatives of the Baltic kantele communities are welcomed as guests at the international celebration seminar in a hybrid format. Speakers at the seminar include Leena Marsio, from the National Board of Antiquities, and Matti Hakamäki from the Folk Music Institute.

Advance registration to the workshops is not required, but participants are encouraged to bring their own kantele.

Kantele artist Arja Kastinen’s kantele yoga invites you to relax with the enchanting sound of our national instrument. Kantele is our instrument, of all Finland! As an educator in the Sibelius Academy’s Folk Music Department, Kastinen has spent decades studying Karelian kantele improvisation, its historical roots and manifestations in contemporary music. Currently, Kastinen works as a visiting researcher at the University of the Arts Helsinki in the "Kantele as a part of verse song culture and creative dialogue" project.

5-string kantele workshops
Don’t be shy and get to know how a 5-string kantele is played. Bring your own 5-string or borrow the Education Centre's 5-string kantele, and your adventure can begin!

The workshops will be held in the library's Tempo room (1st floor) under the guidance of kantele teacher, MMus Anna Kattainen.

11–11:20 am Kantele workshop A
11:30–11:50 am Kantele workshop B
12:30–12:50 pm Kantele workshop C
1:00–1:30 pm Anna Kattainen presents smaller kanteles

The event is organised in cooperation with the Kantele Association, Cultural Centre Kanneltalo, Kannelmäki Library and the Helsinki Adult Education Centre.