Mikkeli Music Festival has appointed conductor Erkki Lasonpalo as the artistic director of the Music Festival. Lasonpalo takes over the position immediately, and the artistic director's term of office extends to the end of the 2026 Festival Week.
Erkki Lasonpalo (born 1986) has studied at the Sibelius Academy under Jorma Panula and Leif Segerstam. Lasonpalo has been the artistic director of the Heinävesi Music Festival from 2014 until the summer 2023. Lasonpalo has been the conductor of the Mikkeli City Orchestra since 2020, and the artistic director of the Lappeenranta City Orhcestra since 2020. Erkki Lasonpalo also has a long-term cooperation with the young musicians Symphony Orchestra Vivo.
'Mikkeli Music Festival has more than thirty years of history, but the Music Festival has now gone through a real renewal. Having Erkki Lasonpalo in our team, is an important step in our renewal. With the arrival of Lasonpalo, we are strengthening our relationship with important partners for Music Festival, both in Finland and abroad. In the four-year period, we will see a developing and upward arc in terms of artistic level and repertoire. I'm looking forward to the joyful arc of Lasonpalo's pace stick in the story of the Mikkeli Music Festival', says Markus Tykkyläinen, chairman of the board of the Mikkeli Music Festival Support Association.
''It is a great honor to take the helm of a traditional, high-quality and wonderfully managed festival. Having followed the festival closely for the last few years, I can say that Mikkeli's music festival is in good proportion international, national and local. I also consider the story of how the festival first survived the corona virus and the turmoil that came with the Ukraine crisis a year ago to be exceptional. Next summer's main theme is love. Hardly anything else could be more important in the whole world right now. ', says Erkki Lasonpalo, appointed artistic director of the Mikkeli Music Festival.
In the summer of 2022, the Mikkeli Music Festival started cooperation with the Philharmonia Orchestra and its conductor Santtu Matias Rouvali. The Philharmonia Orchestra cooperation will continue until the Festival Week of 2026, and will form the framework of the Mikkeli Music Festival's Festival Week for the next few years. The summer 2023 program has been published, and ticket sales have started at the end of 2022.
More information:
Markus Tykkyläinen, chairman of the board, puheenjohtaja@mikkelinmusiikkijuhlat.fi, phone +358 50 596 5482
Erkki Lasonpalo, artistic director, phone +358 40 147 4014
17.8.2023
Erinomaisesti sujunut yhteistyö saa jatkoa.
Read more2.8.2023
Illan solistina esiintyy sopraano Miina-Liisa Värelä
Read more31.7.2023
Vuonna 2024 Mikkelin Musiikkijuhlat soivat eurooppalaisille arvoille.
Read more29.7.2023
Conductor Aliisa Neige Barrière and composer Luukas Hiltunen awarded 1 000 € and a concert in 2024 festival
Read more28.7.2023
Free entrance
Read more27.4.2023
25.4.2023
3.4.2023
Unfortunately, the concert Moments of Love is cancelled.
Read more17.3.2023
Mikkeli Music Festival has appointed Mikko Leppänen, Bachelor of Economics, Master of Music, as the Festival Director of the Music Festival.
Read more15.3.2023
Sääntömääräinen vuosikokous pidetään tiistaina 28.03.2023 klo 16.00 Konsertti- ja kongressitalo Mikaelissa, Sointukatu 1, Mikkeli.
Read more21.2.2023
Mikkeli Music Festival has appointed conductor Erkki Lasonpalo as the artistic director of the Music Festival. Lasonpalo takes over the position immediately, and the artistic director's term of office extends to the end of the 2026 Festival Week.
Read more16.2.2023
The international Scan Magazine praises the festival full of concerts of international top musicians in its article.
Read more9.2.2023
Teemu Laasanen, who has been the festival director of the Mikkeli Music Festival since 2018, will fully take over the management of the company he has founded, MusicFairyTales MFT, of which he is the CEO.
Read more28.11.2022
The theme of summer 2023 is Licence to Love. Love is explored in concerts from different perspectives.
Read more28.11.2022
The Board of Finland Festivals has named the Mikkeli Music Festival as Festival of the Year 2023.
Read more24.11.2022
Founded thirty years ago, the Mikkeli Music Festival has renewed its operating model this summer and is preparing to grow rapidly in the coming years.
Read more7.10.2022
Mikkeli Music Festival signed a four-year cooperation agreement with Philharmonia Orchestra of London
Read more