4 The Guards Band

The Guards Band

The oldest professional wind band in Finland, The Guards Band, was established in 1819. Nowadays the official representative band of the Finnish Defence Forces consists of 42 full-time musicians. One of the duties for the Helsinki-based band is performing at The Independence Day’s reception at the Presidential Palace. On top of the official performances, the Guards Band also gives concerts in Finland and abroad.

kaartinsoittokunta.fi

Senior Conductor

Major (Mus.) Pasi-Heikki Mikkola

Conductor

Major (Mus.) Tomi Väisänen

Concerts

The Spring Concert

Kyösti Mäkimattila, vocals
Pasi-Heikki Mikkola and Tomi Väisänen, conductor

Dive into the world of film music with Kyösti Mäkimattila! The energetic and charismatic singer together with the 200-year-old Guards Band will take you on a trip through time with melodies, words and images.

Töölö III

Free admission!
  • Wed 15.05.2019
    7pm
    Temppeliaukio Church

Jenny Villanen, piccolo
Kaapo Ijas, conductor

Felix Mendelssohn: Overture for Winds
Bruce Broughton: Concerto for Piccolo and Wind Ensemble
Kaapo Ijas: Schizophonia
Paul Hindemith: Symphony in B-flat major

The Guards Band 200 Years Festival

  • Thu 13.06.2019
    7pm
    Balder Hall
  • Fri 14.06.2019
    12pm-
    Helsinki City Centre/Suomenlinna
  • Sat 15.06.2019
    11am-
    Suomenlinna
  • Sun 16.06.2019
    2pm
    Suomenlinna

Töölö IV

Free admission!
  • Wed 09.10.2019
    7pm
    Temppeliaukio Church
Pertti Pekkanen, conductor Jukka Myllys, euphonium

Military Music 200 Years Concert

  • Mon 18.11.2019
    7pm
    Sibelius Hall, Lahti
  • Tue 19.11.2019
    7pm
    The Helsinki Music Centre
    Buy tickets »

The anniversary concert will feature well-known works of military music that are important to Finns, and a peek behind the scenes of historical events.
The anniversary year concert gives a gaze for a diverse and highly relevant history in the field. The Guards Band is performing with the Academic Male Voice Choir of Helsinki, founded in 1838 by Fredrik Pacius and the oldest extant choir in Finland. Kari Turunen has been conducting the choir since 2008.
During the Helsinki concert, a military musician of the year 2019 will be announced.
Conductors: The Chief Conductor of the Finnish Defence Forces, Lieutenant Colonel (Mus.) Jyrki Koskinen, The Senior Conductor, Major (Mus.) Pasi-Heikki Mikkola and former conductors of the Guards Band, Raine Ampuja and Elias Seppälä.