Active in its home city Turku since 2012, the 17-piece big band will welcome a new Artistic Director this year. The orchestra will also receive a new grant from the Arts Promotion Centre Finland that enables a more stable future for the group’s activity.
After his five-year career (2013-2017) as the Artistic Director of Turku Jazz Orchestra, conductor-composer Vellu Halkosalmi will be leaving his occupation for new challenges. Halkosalmi has been at the helm of the orchestra almost since its foundation six years ago, steering the orchestra with ambition and dedication. The Turku Jazz Orchestra President Jusu Heinonen confirms that without Halkosalmi’s vision and professionalism the big band would hardly have been able to reach the high standards that it did in such a short time. “However, from time to time it does good to the development of any orchestra to have a new leader with new ideas,” says Heinonen.
Halkosalmi’s boots will be filled by a long-standing and active member of the orchestra, the first trumpeter Tero Lindberg (b. 1976). Known as one of Finland’s leading trumpeters, Lindberg has played in many Finnish top groups, including Dallapé, Sunrise Avenue, Espoo Big Band and Paula Koivuniemi’s orchestra. He has also appeared in numerous popular TV productions, such as Tähdet, tähdet, Saturday Night Live Finland and Tanssii tähtien kanssa.
Lindberg is also a skilled arranger with plenty of experience in arranging pieces for groups of various sizes from big bands to symphony orchestras and smaller ensembles.
Another change that 2018 brings along is a new grant from the Arts Promotion Centre Finland. Allocated to the orchestra now for the first time, the 25 000 EUR grant paves way for a more stable and secure future for the big band due. In the past two years, Turku Jazz Orchestra has received a special grant from the foundation, which in 2017 amounted to 22 500 EUR.
Coming up in spring 2018:
Turku Jazz Orchestra Big Band School, Spring Period
3 - 25 Mar 2018
Turku Conservatory
Turku Jazz Orchestra & Jussi Lampela: JAZZ NOIR
feat. Jukka Perko & Jukka Eskola
Thu 8 Mar 2018 at 19
Turku Jazz Festival, Åbo Svenska Teater
Big Band On Board: Turku Jazz Orchestra & Mikael Konttinen
Sat 26 May 2018 at 20.55
Viking Grace