Uusinta Ensemble is a contemporary music group focusing in the newest music, new performances, and renewing our musical culture, true to its name (uusinta (Finnish) = newest; repeat performance; renewal).

Uusinta Ensemble is a Grammy Award-winning contemporary music phenomenon founded in 1998 in Helsinki, Finland, celebrating the creative diversity of contemporary music.

The name of the ensemble carries several meanings that together define its mission:

(1) “newest” – demonstrated by the world premiere performance of a new work by Liisa Hirsch, which lies at the heart of the programme;

(2) “replay” – demonstrated by the Finnish works that have all not only been commissioned and premiered by Uusinta but are also receiving many subsequent performances by the ensemble; and

(3) “renewal” – demonstrated by the expansion of the concert format in different ways, exemplified by the theatrical piece by Tara Valkonen that concludes the evening.

The other Finnish works are by the 2025 Teosto Prize winner Mioko Yokoyama, the noise- and Gagaku-inspired electroacoustic composer Jouni Hirvelä, and the eclectic, poetic visionary Olli Moilanen.

Programme:

Mioko Yokoyama: Mineralization (2023)

Olli Moilanen: Trapeze (2023)

Liisa Hirsch: new work (world premiere)

Jouni Hirvelä: Hohka (2026)

Tara Valkonen: die ganze Welt ist nur ein Hospiz (2025)

The first doctoral concert of Sebastian Dumitrescu (Visit an external site. The link opens in a new tab.) explores the potential of using consonance and dissonance as compositional tools in the microtonal tuning system of 31 equal divisions of the octave.

The concert will feature the Uusinta String Quartet, composer Sebastian Dumitrescu, harpsichordist Matias Häkkinen, and the vocal ensemble The Vicentino Singers. 

Sebastian Dumitrescun (Visit an external site. The link opens in a new tab.) ensimmäinen jatkotutkintokonsertti tutkii konsonanssin ja dissonanssin käyttöä sävellyksellisinä työkaluina mikrotonaalisessa 31-tasaviritysjärjestelmässä. 

Konsertissa esiintyy Uusinta-jousikvartetti, säveltäjä Sebastian Dumitrescu, cembalisti Matias Häkkinen ja lauluyhtye The Vicentino Singers.

Free admission – welcome!

“The role of the composer is to act as a filter between reality and the listener, transforming real life into something different from what the listener is accustomed to,” summarizes composer Mioko Yokoyama. Uusinta Ensemble is proud to put forth a selection of these transformations with the group’s latest album, to be released in August 2026.

In this album release concert we will hear three of the four works from the CD. the captivating, award-winning Mineralization (2023), the solo work for prepared piano entitled Game of Metal (2017), and There are always flowers (2021), an ensemble piece about hope written during the pandemic. In between the music Uusinta Ensemble’s artistic director Jarkko Hartikainen will discuss with the composer on the works and Mioko’s intriguing techniques, and dwell deeper on art, inspiration and the meaning of music.

We warmly welcome you to join us in celebrating the new album and Mioko’s work!

Programme

Mioko Yokoyama: Mineralization
Malla Vivolin, flute
Helmi Malmgren, bass clarinet
Maria Puusaari, violin
Pinja Nuñez, cello

Mioko Yokoyama: Game of Metal
Emil Holmström, piano

Mioko Yokoyama: There are always flowers
Anna-Sofia Anttonen, saxophone 
Maria Puusaari, violin 
Max Savikangas, viola 
Pinja Nuñez, cello 
Emil Holmström, piano

The duration of the concert is approx. 1 h. Conversation will be held bilingually in Finnish and English.

Tickets 20 / 18 / 15 € + delivery fees (starting from 1,50 € + 0,65 % when ordering in www.lippu.fi (Visit an external site. The link opens in a new tab.)) & from the door an hour before the concert, if still available.

“My hope is to bring a little bit of the land to future musicians through this piece.” -Tanya Tagac

Forging a connection with nature, Uusinta Ensemble are joined by Sámi artist Ánnámáret, whose collaboration with Spanish-Finnish composer Jaime Belmonte has produced an amicable collaborative alliance between Western contemporary music and traditional joik, titled Ráidu. Ánnámáret also performs her own solo luohti. Tanya Tagac, a vocal and electronic music creator whose roots are in the Inuit culture of Canada, wrote Sivunittinni originally for throat singing. The premiere work on the programme is by Jouni Hirvelä and is inspired by gagaku, ancient Japanese courtly music that is the oldest known type of orchestral music. The work reflects the static sound of the Sho organ, which may be interpreted as a metaphor for the melding of mind and nature.

Jouni Hirvelä (*1982): Hohka (ke)
Anna Näkkäläjärvi-Länsman (*1979): Luohtisoolot
Tanya Tagaq (*1975): Sivunittinni (2015)
Jaime Belmonte Caparrós (*1988) / Anna Näkkäläjärvi-Länsman: Ráidu (2023)

Fractals is a hypnotic work by composer Robert Ruohola and video artist Valtteri Alanen, in which music and video fill Turku Art Chapel with ever-changing patterns.