Contributors

Wif Stenger is a journalist at the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), and also contributes to Jazz Journal, Monocle, The Guardian and Deutsche Welle.​

Jaakko Mäntyjärvi is an authorised Finnish/English translator and one of Finland’s internationally best known composers of choral music. He translates regularly for FMQ and other music-related publications and also in a variety of other fields. As a composer, he has been commissioned to write choral works for events such as the World Symposium on Choral Music and for distinguished ensembles such as the King’s Singers and Chanticleer. He has also taught a course in the history of choral music at the Sibelius Academy of the University of Arts Helsinki.

Minna Luoma is an award-winning graphic designer. None of Minna’s works would be born without the uplifting power of music.

Martin Anderson runs the labels Toccata Classics and Toccata Next and publishes books on classical music as Toccata Press; he also writes on music in various publications in Britain and abroad. His degree (from the University of St Andrews, in 1977 – he is a Scot) was in mediaeval French and German, and thereafter he worked in economics for twenty years, in London and Paris; he has been back in London since 1997, devoting himself entirely to music from that point on.

Santeri Kaipiainen is a Helsinki-based musician, writer, composer and music teacher, holding a M.A. in music education and a B.Mus. in pop/jazz keyboards. Apart from teaching piano at music school Avonia and writing regular content for Rondo Classic, Kaipiainen is the bandleader and primary composer for Lapua-Uusi-Guinea (contemporary folk) and Odd Brew (jazz/fusion). His creative domains in music include classical (especially contemporary works), jazz, folk and popular music.

Tove Djupsjöbacka is a musicologist and freelance journalist specializing in flamenco, folk music and world music. She is also active as a flamenco dancer and chamber choir singer. Her musical taste ranges from renaissance polyphony and Verdi operas to hiphop. Tove writes about music and dance for Hufvudstadsbladet, FMQ, Kansanmusiikki, Rondo, flamenco magazine Letra and keeps a blog (in Finnish): www.pinnanalla.fi.

David Threasher was born in Somerset, England, and took degrees in Music at the Universities of London and Wales. Initially a producer for Nimbus Records, he has subsequently served on the editorial staffs of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (second edition, 2001), the BBC Proms, Gramophone magazine and White Label Productions. He has written articles and reviews for publications including Classic FM, International Piano, Muso and The Strad magazines, programme notes for concert-giving organizations and record companies internationally, and is co-editor of The East London Chorus Carol Book and (with James Jolly) The Gramophone Classical Music Guide. As a performer he has appeared at venues including the Colston Hall in Bristol, the Concert Hall of the Nimbus Foundation in Monmouth and, in London, the Theatres Royal at Drury Lane and Stratford East, and the Ritz Hotel. Now a freelance writer, editor, composer, arranger, pianist and Gramophone critic specializing in music of the 18th and 19th centuries, he is also undertaking doctoral work on approaches to new completions of Mozart’s Requiem at the Royal College of Music, London, and has written extensively on musical subjects ranging from Victoria and Monteverdi to Abba and Jessie J.

Riikka Hiltunen is a music journalist and musicologist, who worked many years as the editor of FMQ, and is still happy to contribute to her former employer. Her main research interest is pop music songwriting process, but she is very familiar with Finnish folk music scene as well.

Merja Hottinen is a doctoral student in musicology at the University of Helsinki. She is currently on study leave from her position as Research and Development Manager at Music Finland.

MA, PhD candidate Nuppu Koivisto is currently finishing her PhD thesis ("Sähkövaloa, shampanjaa ja wiener Damenkapelle: naisten salonkiorkesterit ja varieteealan transnationaaliset verkostot Suomessa 1877-1916") on ladies' orchestras in late 19th-century Finland at the University of Helsinki. In her research, she aims to shed light on the lives and careers of women musicians, composers and music hall performers that have previously been marginalized in music historiography.

Kimmo Korhonen is a freelance writer about music and other non-fiction topics and has published several books about Finnish music.

Andrew Mellor is a journalist and critic based in Copenhagen. He writes and talks about Nordic and Baltic music for organisations in America, the UK and most places north-east of it.

Sini Mononen is a musicologist and an art critic who works and lives in Helsinki. As a scholar, she is interested in film music and the sonic representations of violence and the violent experience. Currently, she is preparing her PhD in musicology in the University of Turku. Besides being a scholar, she works as an art critic. Since 2005, she has written criticism on contemporary art. The intersections and margins of art are of her interest.

Petri Silas is a freelance music journalist and critic whose reviews and interviews appear regularly in specialist monthlies such as Riffi, Soundi and Rondo and weekly magazines like Suomen Kuvalehti, Apu and others. He has over 25 years of experience in the field and specializes in jazz, rock and the avantgarde. He is in frequent demand both as commissioned article writer for music encyclopedias and translator of arts literature. Twitter: @petrisilas