Antti Järvelä

”During the turning points of my life, music has helped me so that when faced with difficulties, I have been able to direct my thoughts elsewhere through playing. It is not so much about the musical genre or instrument, but about concentrating on the activity”, says violinist and educator Alina Järvelä who specialises in folk and early music.

According to the festival programme, Frigg, a band from Finland that made their first Dutch appearance at the Celtic & Balfolk Night in Rotterdam on 18 February, “sometimes sound like a polka band, sometimes like a Riverdance troupe and sometimes even like a rock band”. And they did, even though they didn’t show their rough and edgy side right from the start.

The nature of folk music has always included the shameless borrowing of refreshing material from elsewhere – right now Baltic Finnish influences are rising to the top in Finland.

The world music market has seen a boom in Celtic, African and Latin American music. Many people believe that it is the turn of the Nordic countries next.

"In 2015, JPP is still alive and kicking, and playing with as high quality as ever. They don’t play too often, but when they do there is a nice relaxed touch, and they don’t take it all too seriously. "

What happens if you put forty folk musicians and their instruments in one room once a month for a couple of years? The Sibelius Academy Folk Big Band is leading the way for Finnish folk instrument orchestras.