Emilia Lajunen, violinist

Emilia Lajunen’s (b. 1979) instruments are the violin, five string violin and the nyckelharpa (key fiddle), Sweden’s national instrument. She graduated as a Master of Music from the Sibelius Academy’s Department of Folk Music in 2007, with the violin as her major subject and singing as her minor. Her teachers have included Maria Kalaniemi, Ritva Talvitie, Timo Alakotila, Risto Hotakainen and Henrietta Rantalaiho. In addition, Lajunen was an exchange student at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm in 2005. The Sibelius Academy allowed Lajunen to put on her official debut concert and in April 2010 she demonstrated her versatile and wide-ranging musical talents as a musician, arranger and conductor.

Lajunen started playing the violin at the age of four and the nyckelharpa in her twenties: “Risto Hotakainen from the Ostrobothnian Tallari group demonstrated the nyckelharpa to me at some point on a course at the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, and I was immediately taken with it,” says Lajunen.

In 1996, Lajunen was voted young folk fiddler of the year. Her other achievements include second place in the 2002 folk music competition for vocalists and soloists and in the NORD 08 Scandinavian Championship, which was held in Sälen, Sweden in 2008. In addition, Lajunen’s Suo trio won the 2007 Ethnovision contest together with the Swedish vocal group Kraja and was nominated two years later for the 2009 Ethno-Emma award with the album The Sea Drives My Mind.

Lajunen works as a musician and composer with her ensembles Suo, Spontaani Vire, Juuri & Juuri and also works on solo projects, which include, for example, cooperation with the Italian accordion player Filippo Gambetta and the organist Ville Urponen. The programme for the concert “Nyckelharpa and Organ”, which Lajunen has been performing regularly since 2008, includes the work of composers such as Veli Kujala, Eero Grundström and Kirmo Lintinen. Lajunen’s wide-ranging talents are highlighted by the fact that in addition to her deep knowledge of the Finnish folk music tradition, she also composes music and, for example, has appeared as a performer in various folk dance and music performances and ensembles. Emilia Lajunen teaches folk music at the Sibelius Academy and at the Pakila music institute.

In spring 2010, Lajunen gave her debut concert “Emilia Lajunen Fixed” in the Soiva Akatemia concert series at the Sibelius Academy, when she was also accompanied by musicians such as Eero Grundström and the young Italian melodeon player Filippo Gambetta.

MySpace: Emilia Lajunen

AMONG PAST PERFORMANCES:

Emilia Lajunen Fixed

Folkelarm 2010, Oslo, Norway

Recordings:

2009 Suo: Mieltäni meri ajaa
2008 Spontaani Vire: Korkea kofeiinipitoisuus
2008 Senni Eskelinen Stringpurée Band
2008 Aigi: Hilat
2008 Suo: Maja-Majava
2007 Suo: Ei Päivien perijätä
2004 Merja Ikkelä & Vemmelpuu: Puuvärejä
2004 Tarujen Saari: Sota kirottu!
2002 Spontaani Vire: Kaahu