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 Guards Band 200 Years Festival

Free admission!
  • 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
The Guarde Band of the Finnish Defence Forces celebrates its 200th anniversary!

Thursday 13 June 2019

 19.00 Chamber Music Concert
Balderin sali Hall
The Guards Wind Octet, Brass Quintet and Saxophone Quartet

 Friday 14 June 2019

 12.30 Guards parade
Starts at Senate Square
The Guards Band, The Navy Band and the Honorary Guard

 14.00 MIL-Espa
Espa Stage
The Navy Band with conductor Petri Junna

 18.00 Big band concert
Suomenlinna Parade Ground
Antti Rissanen, conductor

20.00 Karelian Swing (tickets 15 €)
Levyhalli hall (Suomenlinna Sea Fortress)
The Guards Brass Septet with Antti Sarpila, clarinet

 21.00 After Party
Restaurant Susisaari (Suomenlinna Sea Fortress)

Saturday 15 June 2019
11.00 Children's Concert
Levyhalli hall (Suomenlinna Sea Fortress)
The Guards Wind Quintet with narrator Kari Ketonen (in Finnish)

12.00 Parade
Great courtyard - Suomenlinna Parade Ground
The Guards Band and The Conscript Band of the Finnish Defence Forces

13.15 Sing-along
Suomenlinna Parade Ground
The Conscript Band of the Finnish Defence Forces

14.00 (women) ja 16.00 (men) Sauna concert
(liput 15 €)
Naval Academy sauna
Singer Ona Kamu with The Guards Band Sauna Trio

14.00 ja 16.00 Guided Tour with music (in Finnish)
Starts at Suomenlinna Tourist information

15.00 Throughout the decades
Levyhalli hall (Suomenlinna Sea Fortress)
The Guards Band and conductor Sauli Saarinen

 18.00 Defence Forces Musical Summer Tour
Suomenlinna Parade Ground
6 pm The Navy Combo and Adi L Hasla
7 pm The Guards Combo and Heini Ikonen
8 pm The Conscript Band’s Show Band

 21.30 After Party
Resaurant Susisaari
The Guards Band’s conscripts

Sunday 16 June 2019

15.00 Suomenlinna by the Sea
Suomenlinna Parade Ground
The Guards Band with conductor Pasi-Heikki Mikkola

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.