Fredagar på Sibbe: Aerial Roots
25.09.2026 18:30 – 19:45
Standard price 25€ + order fee (from 1,50 € + 0,65 % of the order)
Student, pensioner, child, unemployed 20€ + + order fee (from 1,50 € + 0,65 % of the order)
ABOAGORA participation fee (the whole programme 23–25.9) 50€
ABOAGORA one-day ticket 20€
Maija Kauhanen’s one-woman orchestra meets Saxtronauts at the final concert of Aboagora!
In Tytti Arola’s Exobiology for saxophone quartet and live electronics, a tribute is paid to women who have traveled to space, saxophone yoga is practised, and strange creatures are encountered. Timo Alakotila’s Ilman lieto for voice, Saarijärvi kantele, and saxophone quartet draws on runosong traditions. The work tells about the wind and the places it may carry us. Strong themes of Maija Kauhanen’s music are gathering, herding call traditions and incantation. In the concert, these multifaceted musicians celebrate the power of collaboration and communality.
Tytti Arola (*1990): Exobiology (2020/22)
I Rise
II Float
III Encounter
Maija Kauhanen (*1986): Raivopyörä
Timo Alakotila (*1959): Ilman lieto (2026)
Maija Kauhanen & Saxtronauts: Metatyöt, Sisarueni (2026)
Saxtronauts: Anna-Sofia Anttonen, Nanna Ikonen, Nanako Lammi, Sikri Lehko
Maija Kauhanen, voice, kanteles, percussion
Tytti Arola, electronics
Mika Jokela, sound engineer
Maija Kauhanen is a Finnish kantele virtuoso, singer, and multi-instrumentalist as well as a talented composer and lyricist. She is known to be a charismatic performer with an entrancing stage presence. As a solo artist, she plays self-penned music as a one-woman orchestra simultaneously playing the kantele, percussion, and singing on top.
The music Maija Kauhanen plays as a solo act is all composed by her, but the foundation of her music is deeply rooted in Finnish folk music. Weaving her kantele playing together with her versatile singing voice, poly-rhythms, and the organic beats of percussion, she creates unique cinematic soundscapes and compelling grooves.
Over the past few years, Maija has toured solo in over 30 countries around Europe, Asia, and America. She has also been awarded with several prestigious music prizes. As the latest international recognition Maija was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize 2023. In 2024 she will continue to work on her solo music with funding from the Finnish Music council.
In 2025 Maija will continue composing new solo music with funding from the Kone Foundation. She’ll also be working on a kantele with a motion controlled LED light system with her team. Her projects this year include work with the electro-folk ensemble Okra Playground and YL Male Voice Choir. Maija also has composition commissions from other artists.
Saxtronauts is an exploratory saxophone ensemble whose goal is to bring high quality art music to diverse audiences in an unbiased way. The band’s starting point is to collaborate seamlessly with a variety of scholarly and artistic disciplines. The ensemble arranges works for saxophone from different periods, commissions new music and performs original works composed for saxophone. Saxtronauts has previously performed at the Helsinki Festival, as a soloist in the Fleet Music Corps and in the Tulkinnanvaraista concert series.
Saxtronauts Anna-Sofia Anttonen, Nanna Ikonen, Nanako Lammi and Sikri Lehko are all versatile and inquisitive musicians, educators and performing artists in their own right. The saxophone is their instrument for exploring the universe.
You can also registrate for ABOAGORA: Mercury, the Winged Messenger, 23-25 September
· The basic participation fee for ABOAGORA 2026 is 50 €
· A reduced fee of 20 € applies for students, doctoral researchers, professional artists or other unwaged participants
· There is also a one-day ticket (20€) for those who can participate only on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday
The participation fee and one-day tickets cover all sessions as well as concerts and refreshments served during coffee breaks.
Read about the programme here:
https://www.aboagora.fi/program/