Värein

Score / parts

Instrumentation and duration

Piano, 4 percussionists (marimba, 2 xylophones, vibraphone, gran cassa, Tam-tam) and string orchestra (young players)

Duration: 11 minutes

Commission / dedications

Commissioned by The East Helsinki Music Institute for their 50th Anniversary. Dedicated to The Helsinki Strings, their conductor Jukka Rantamäki and the East Helsinki Music Institute on their 50th Anniversary

First performance

Students of the East Helsinki Music Institute and the Helsinki Strings, cond. Jukka Rantamäki, Temppeliaukio Church, Helsinki, Finland, May 26, 2016

Reflections

Composer's Notes

This work marked a new kind of opening for me in that it had to be tailored to suit young performers. New music is sometimes perceived as extremely difficult and a challenging terrain that only highly polished professionals and virtuosos can navigate. At times, that image is justified. Still, I believe composers write far too few works for young musicians. Occasionally (though thankfully less often these days), one even hears (self-)congratulatory remarks about how impossibly difficult and demanding a new piece is. Perhaps partly because of this, new music has often remained distant from students at the early stages of their studies.

Ironically, it’s the contemporary music scene itself that suffers from this: it may appear narrower, more one-dimensional, and harder to approach than it really is.

A composer must be able to adapt their ideas and expression to suit different ensembles and various needs. Perhaps it’s the teacher in me who sees it as a personal mission to make new music available even to younger students… Access to the incredibly rich world of contemporary music should be a right, not a privilege.

It’s a great honor for me to hear the premiere of my new work performed by the extraordinarily talented students of the East Helsinki Music Institute and the Helsinki Strings. Among them are many of my current and former students. Värein is dedicated to the Helsinki Strings, their conductor Jukka Rantamäki, and the East Helsinki Music Institute on its 50th anniversary.

Congratulations, the East Helsinki Music Institute – may music continue to bring joy, inspiration, and light into the future!