History
3. PÄIVI'S TERM BEGINS
The third decade of Suomen Kansanmusiikkiliitto
In this third part of my article series I focus on Suomen Kansanmusiikkiliitto's third decade of activity (1988-1997).
The revolving door of executive directors settled down when Päivi Utriainen (later Ylönen-Viiri) was hired by the association, first as course secretary in autumn 1988 and then as executive director from the start of 1989.
Suomen Kansanmusiikkiliitto suffered a great loss when its founding member and 16-year chair, professor Erkki Ala-Könni passed away in autumn 1996. Another key figure, vice-chair and magazine editor Timo Koski had died in November 1989 after a long illness. The 1987-93 chair Tapio Rantakari passed away in autumn 1993. Several other regional and association activists and master folk musicians also passed away during the decade. Of these, obituaries in the pages of Pelimanni were published for at least Katri Heino, Otto Hotakainen, Lauri Ikonen, Olavi Järvinen, Lauri Kahilainen, Viljo Kanerva, Hilkka Keipi, Aaro Kentala, Eeli Kivinen, Unto Korppila, Väinö Kumpulainen, Veikko Lakkavaara, Kalevi Lindqvist, Eero Loppi, Sulo Masalin, Esko Muhonen, Arvo Myllykangas, Urho Myllymäki, Osmo Nieminen, Heljä Ovaska, Johannes Pasanen, Eero Piirto, Aatos Rinta-Koski, Jouko J. Risku, Erkki Saastamoinen, Eino Sointula, Kerttu Talvitie, Edith Tuomi, Eeli Tuomi, Matti Tuominen and Huugo Värälä.
A new look
The member magazine Pelimanni got a new look through new layouts and new printing houses. In 1990 the magazine grew from A5 to B5 size, and in 1995 to A4. The magazine's logo also evolved during the 1990s. The number of articles grew, and there has been no shortage of keen writers from different fields of activity. The country's folk music events got more column space than before, and new records and books were followed closely. Over the years the magazine has presented dozens of folk musicians of the month, regional figures and new instruments. It has also carried plenty of other factual writing by members on different areas of folk music.
Tight finances
The board of Suomen Kansanmusiikkiliitto kept a firm footing in the regions. It had ten representatives from Lapland to Uusimaa, from both east and west. Under the leadership of Hollola-based chair Tapio Rantakari, important decisions were made to unify the folk music field and pool its forces. Finances were already quite tight when Päivi Utriainen took up her post. The state had cut its grants, and many planned events had to be cancelled. Opening new funding channels was part of Päivi's job. Consignment sales of folk music material began, for example, and the association became a key place to buy folk music recordings and publications. The association had of course run small-scale, occasional sales at the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival since the early 1980s. In 1992 a challenge fundraising drive brought in nearly 39,000 markka in under a year. The same year, total sales of the sales service rose to nearly 110,000 markka.
A change of chair
Southern Häme native Tapio Rantakari chaired the association for seven years. His sudden death in autumn 1993 forced the annual meeting to choose a successor. The vote between Juhani Näreharju and Seppo Kalliomaa was won by Kalliomaa, and the chairmanship returned to South Ostrobothnia. Seppo Kalliomaa's term as chair lasted four years in all.
Bringing in children and young people
Young people's folk music activities were supported in several ways. In 1988 the second KAMU camp for children and young people was held in Viitasaari; the first had been in Saarijärvi the year before. These camps, offering folk music in many forms, drew participants from all over Finland; at their peak a KAMU camp had over a hundred participants and around ten teachers.
In 1988 a folk music festival for children and young people was planned in Oulu. The summer event did take place, though a Pelimanni article noted the turnout could have been bigger. The Pelimanni magazine got its own Young Folk Musician pages, developed in part by the association's youth committee. They presented young bands and youth events.
Our partner Kansanmusiikkiseura organised Young Fiddler of the Year competitions in Uusimaa, drawing players from across the country. Among those named were Elina Lajunen and Christopher Öhman (1992) and Nanna Nevantalo and Samuli Valo (1993).
The 1988 national youth arts event included a traditional music composition competition. First prize went to Solja Ryhänen from Koljonvirta. Participation was fairly low, and according to the jury the standard was not very high either, apart from the prizewinners.
The office got its first training secretary soon after Päivi Utriainen joined the association in autumn 1988. Many folk music students, from the Sibelius Academy among others, have gained experience in organisational work and especially in training activities for young people and adults as the association's training secretary.
Events of many kinds
Many proven activities, such as the Orivesi courses, Samuelin Poloneesi, the KAMU camps, regional events and so on, continued with small adjustments. In various years there were also national themes chosen by the Central League of Finnish Folk Music, to which the association contributed. Themes included styles, folk song, the polska and the special Year of Folk Music and Dance 1996, for which national preparations began as early as 1994. Different regions were highlighted in alternate years, and national visibility was promoted in many ways.
The decade also included a NORDLEK festival held in Finland, in Vaasa in summer 1997. The Nordic event drew a record number of Finnish participants, and the folk musicians made a fine showing.
The rules for earning folk musician badges were revised in 1995, and a gold badge was added. Dozens of keen candidates have earned badges every year.
Composition competitions also returned after a long break, when the association held competitions for composing a sung waltz and a minuet in 1995. First prize went to Toivo and Saimi Alaspää for the sung waltz Aamu tunturissa. The minuet competition was won by Lauri Keskinen from Renko with Kuutamomenuetti. The next year it was the turn of two-row accordion polkas – winner Lauri Keskinen – and in 1997 instrumental polskas. That too was won by Lauri Keskinen. Both the harvest of the composition competitions and traditional and musician-composed material were published in Pelimanni's centrefold sheet music supplement, adding to the musicians' shared repertoire.