1960 - 2010

 

The Sudbury Finnish Male Choir

 

 

 

The founding meeting of the Sudbury Finnish Male Choir was held at Sampo Hall on September 4, 1960.  Of those present Pentti Talpiainen, Alpo Punkkinen, Aapo Hietala, and Aaro Alatalo are still active in the choir today.

 

From it's humble beginnings to the present day the Sudbury Finnish Male Choir has enjoyed a forty-five year history full of musical accomplishments in the Finnish tradition of choral music.  Starting with it's very inception this choir has always had a nucleus of immigrant Finns complemented by Estonians and others.  The choir has consistently had memorable conductors, soloists, accompanists, and singers.  Numerous concert performances have been provided by the choir throughout Ontario, North America and Finland.  Membership in the Amerikan Laulujat has provided touring opportunities with other North American Finnish choirs based in Chicago, Lake Worth, Florida, Detroit, New York, Los Angeles,  Vancouver, Sault Ste. Marie, Toronto and Thunder Bay.  In 1989 the choir assumed the AL Executive and in 1992 organized the 7th AL Concert Tour of Finland in conjunction with Finland’s 75th Anniversary “Juuret Suomessa/Roots in Finland” celebrations. Various local Finnish organizations have also called and continue to call upon the choir to perform at Finnish cultural events.

 

Part of the success of the Sudbury Finnish Male Choir has come from the hard work of a dedicated leadership and membership.  The members of the choir particularly enjoy the fellowship of the singing brotherhood.  Monday night practices also provide an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of singing music arranged for four part harmony.  While very few of the singers have formal musical training many of them bring a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to their musical offerings.  Over the years the choir has enjoyed success in Quartet Competitions performing as “The Nikkelit”. The “Annin Pojat” quartet remain the quartet with the most wins of AL Quartet Competitions.

 

Now that the choir has moved into the next ½ century, it continues to recruit new members so that others can experience the enjoyment and accomplishment that comes from singing songs to best of one's ability.

 

Founding Members                               Choir Directors

                                                                                                (in Chronological Order)

 

Alatalo, Aaro                          Patjas, Eino                              Timo Kotilehti

Hietala, Aapo                         Punkkinen, Alpo                        Erkki Hietanen

Karvinen, Eino †                    Riuttanen, Eino †                     Aksel Palgi

Juusela, Pertti                        Saari, A.K. (Kusti)                    Antti Saari **

Kotilehti, Timo * †                 Talpiainen, Pentti                     Ella Lillo

Nordberg, Eino †                    Vuorensyrjä, Juhani †            Marlene Sovran

Pajunen, Arvo †                      Wierre, Antti

 

Note    * Choir’s Founding Director

            ** Served twice, after Palgi and after Lillo   

 

♫ ♪ ♪ ♫