When Karl Collan composed Sylvian joululaulu, a traditional Finnish Christmas song,
he was blissfully unaware that one of the
concert halls at the Iisalmi Cultural Centre
would be named after him. This acoustically
outstanding hall, designed to host classical
music concerts, has served as a venue for
dozens of concerts. Savolaisten laulu, a regional anthem composed by Collan, has also
been sung in this hall countless times. Little
did Collan know that this hall would serve as
an inspiration for young local music students
nearly two hundred years later.
“Iisalmi provides a wonderful setting for
anyone interested in music and culture,” says
Meri Kettunen, currently a music student in
Tampere.
According to Kettunen, who studied music at
the Ylä-Savo Music Institute, there is such a
wealth of leisure activities available for young
people in Iisalmi that everyone can easily find
something they like. The Ylä-Savo Music Institute is a case in point. “Wonderful teachers,
great projects and events, and excellent facilities inspired me to pursue music first as
a hobby and later as a career.” If he were
here, in this room named after him, listening
to the beautiful sounds emerging from Meri
Kettunen’s violin, Collan would smile approvingly. In Iisalmi, art is seamlessly passed on
from one generation to the next.
Meri Kettunen will certainly not be the last
Iisalmi-born musician to succeed in the music
business. Iisalmi has raised several leading
Finnish classical music and popular music
artists, not to mention skilled jazz musicians
who come to Iisalmi to play in concerts all
year round.