Finnish concert at UW features National Heritage Fellowship winner

Wilho Saari, master of the Finnish kantele

Wilho Saari, master of the Finnish kantele, will perform Friday, October 2nd in Brechemin Auditorium at 7:00pm.

Mr. Saari, from Naselle, Washington, was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2006. He is a fifth generation performer on the kantele (a plucked zither), which many consider to be the national instrument of Finland. Mr. Saari was Finlandia Foundation's Performer of the Year in 2011, and he plays both traditional music and his own compositions on the kantele.

This concert is presented by Northwest Heritage Resources, headquartered in Lake Forest Park, in partnership with the University of Washington Ethnomusicology Department and Jack Straw Cultural Center. Mr. Saari will be joined for this concert by the Finnish Choral Society of Seattle.

Wilho Saari
with kantele

They will continue this year's celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of legendary Finnish composer Jean Sibelius with a performance of several of his pieces, along with those of other Finnish composers.

This concert is one of a series of public programs associated with the national exhibit, Extraordinary Ordinary People: American Masters of Traditional Arts, now on display at Jack Straw Cultural Center through November 30th.

Wilho Saari is an artist featured in this exhibit, and will also play his kantele in the front gallery of Jack Straw Cultural Center on Saturday, October 3rd from 11:00 - 3:00pm. More information at Jack Straw. There is a suggested donation of $5 for the concert, admission is free for students. 

This concert is funded in part by the Finlandia Foundation, 4Culture, ArtsWA, Humanities Washington and the National Endowment for the Arts.