Atso Almila (born in Helsinki on 13 June 1953¹) is a Finnish orchestral conductor, musical director, composer, trombonist and teacher. He has worked with most Finnish orchestras as a guest conductor or otherwise. Though he primarily operates in Finland he also works heavily in Sweden and Estonia. His composition style may be deemed neo-classical though he has been seen to be sometimes chromatic and expressive (as in his 1985 Flute Concerto and his 1989 Violin Concerto). His works show appreciation for the individual instrument and for natural musicianship. Helsinki (pronounced with the stress on the first syllable in Finnish: ), or Helsingfors in Swedish   listen?, is the capital of Finland. ... June 13 is the 164th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (165th in leap years), with 201 days remaining. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... A trombonist (or tromboner) is a musician who plays the trombone. ... Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture. ... In music, chromatic indicates the inclusion of notes not in the prevailing scale and is also used for those notes themselves (Shir-Cliff et al 1965, p. ... 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

He studied the trombone and orchestral conducting at the Sibelius Academy of Helsinki under Jorma Panula graduating in orchestral conducting in 1979. He would later work in the institution as the senior assistant in conducting between 1991 and 2002 and a lecturer in orchestral conducting since 2002. He has been the conductor of several choirss including the Radio Symphony Choir (1975–1976), Sibelius Academy chamber choir Cantemus (1979–1984) and the Akateeminen Laulu choir (1991–1995). He has also served as the conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra (1987–1989) and the Joensuu Municipal Orchestra between 1993 and 2000 (of which he also been the artistic chief). He was the music director and the artistic director of the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra between 1995 and 2000 after which he became the Principle Guest Conductor of the Seinäjoki City Orchestra where he has been since. He was also the musical director of the National Theatre of Finland between 1982 and 1995 and has been the conductor of the Finnish National Opera (1980–1987 and 1989–1995). At the FNO he has conducted Einojuhani Rautavaara's Vincent, Markus Fagerudd's Gaia, Vajda's Mario and the Magician and Igor Stravinsky's The Nightingale. In 1982 he won the Norrköping Nordic Conducting Competition along with Jukka-Pekka Saraste. The Sibelius Academy in downtown Helsinki. ... Jorma Panula Born in Finland, Jorma Panula was the artistic director and chief conductor of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra from 1963 to 1965, the Helsinki Philharmonic from 1965 to 1972 and the Aarhus Symphony from 1970 to 1973. ... 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about choirs, musical ensembles containing singers. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Finnish National Opera (Finnish: Kansallisooppera) in Helsinki is the leading opera company in Finland. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Einojuhani Rautavaara (born October 9, 1928) is a Finnish composer of classical music, probably the best known Finnish composer of his generation. ... Gaia, also spelled as Gaea, Gaïa, or Ge, can refer to any one of the following: Gaia is a Greek and Roman goddess, also known as the Earth Mother. ... Written by German author Thomas Mann in 1929, it is a story of political inclination. ... Igor Fyodorovitch Stravinsky (Russian: ) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian-American composer of modern classical music. ... 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jukka-Pekka Saraste (born April 22, 1956) is a Finnish conductor. ...

His compositions include four operas: Kolmekymmentä hopearahaa (Thirty Pieces of Silver) in 1988, Ameriikka (America) in 1992, Isontaloon Antti (Antti Isotalo) in 2000, and Pohjanmaan kautta (Bottoms Up!) in 2002. They are usually based around folk plots and often incorporate folk music - though they are not folk opera due to the presence of musical development and structural spans. His harmonies are reminiscent of Sergei Prokofiev and Les Six - with the influence of Italian melody in his last two opera. The plot of Kolmekymmentä hopearahaa studies the relationship between a revivalist minister and those around him (both lay and clergy) and is based upon a play by Heikki Ylikangas. Ameriikka is a study of love and long-distance relationships: a miner goes to America leaving his fiancée behind - her imagination leads her to jealousy and she decides to pursue him across the Atlantic Ocean. Isontaloon Antti follows a recruiting Jägare who, after returning from training in Germany, is pursued by the police for this allegiance. The libretti of both Ameriikka and Isontaloon Antti's were written by Antti Tuuri. Pohjanmaan kautta, which had a libretto written by Tiina Puumalainen, is a story of Prohibition in Ostrobothnia (the title is literally translated as "through Ostrobothnia", a Finnish toast). They have all been premiered in Ilmajoki and are usually performed outside. The foyer of Charles Garniers Opéra, Paris, opened 1875 Opera is an art form consisting of a dramatic stage performance set to music. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. ... Musical development is the transformation and restatement of initial material, often contrasted with musical variation, with which it may be difficult to distinguish as a general process. ... This article is about musical harmony. ... Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (Russian: ) (April 271, 1891 – March 5, 1953) was a Russian composer who mastered numerous musical genres and came to be admired as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. ... Le Groupe des Six, 1922, by Jacques-Emile Blanche. ... }} Wiktionary has a definition of: Melody In music, a melody is a series of linear events or a succession, not a simultaneity as in a chord. ... A Revival is the apparent restoration of a living creature from a dead state to a living state. ... A minister can mean several things: A government minister is a politician who heads a government ministry A minister of religion is a member of the clergy A minister is the rank of diplomat directly below ambassador This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that... A long-distance relationship is a relationship between people who are physically far apart. ... The El Chino Mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... A libretto is the body of words used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, oratorio, or musical. ... Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol. ... Ostrobothnia, Österbotten (literally East (of) Bottom / the Gulf of Bothnia) or Pohjanmaa (literally Bottom land / soil / ground), is a historical province to the north in Finland. ... Toast is bread that has been browned by exposure to dry heat. ... One of many Ilmajoki´s lakes Ilmajoki is a municipality of Finland. ...

His music is characterised as being wistful and restless, featuring playful melodies and brusque ostinatos. They often emphasise brass instruments, and include two symphonies including one for brass quintet and orchestra (notable for its aleatoric counterpoint), concerti (double bass in 1979, flute in 1985, tuba in 1986, violin in 1989 and trombone in 1994) and chamber music (importantly, a Wind Quartet and a String Quintet, both of 1993; also Taikalamppu for brass quartet, Dedications, Memories (1985) for brass quintet, the Wind Nonet (1985) and the Brass Quintet (1991)). His wind band work is traditional and tonal which may be described as Gebrauchsmusik and he sometimes borrows from popular music. These works include Concert March (1979), Allegro agitato (1986) and Fanfare (1987), the larger-scale Concerto for Two Clarinets and Wind Band (1980) and Visions from the North (1997). This work includes some for theatre (roughly 40 plays), television and film. His screen work includes Da Capo [1] in 1985 and Kotia päin [2] in 1989. Ostinato, an Italian word meaning stubborn (compare English obstinate), is to classical music what riffs are to popular music. ... A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular resonator. ... A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments. ... Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Orchestra at City Hall (Edmonton). ... Origin Etymology Concerto (pl. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ... 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ... This article pertains to the musical instrument. ... 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The tuba is the largest of the low-brass instruments and is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the ophicleide. ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bâ™­/F tenor trombone A lip-reed aerophone with a predominantly cylindrical bore, the trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... A wind band, also called concert band, symphonic band, or wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments, and string bass. ... The adjective tonal can refer to: tonality in music a tonal language the opposite of Nagual, in the specific context of Carlos Castaneda, the tonal is what makes the world. ... Gebrauchsmusik is a German term, essentially meaning “utility music,” for music that exists not only for its own sake, but which was composed for some specific, identifiable purpose. ... Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and mostly distributed commercially. ... Theatre is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed any one or more elements of the other performing arts. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Selected discography

• Concertos for Tuba, French Horn and Trombone (Oulu symphony Orchestra 1996)
• Contrabasso concertante - Finalndia (Jorma Katrama and Kuopio Symphony 1998)
• Sibelius Rarities (Kuopio Symphony 1999 - Finlandia)
• Piazzolla - finlandia (Mika Vayrynen and Kuopio Symphony 2000)

References

• North Michigan University profile. Retrieved 21 February 2005.
• Profile at the Lieksa Brass Week 2005 website. Retrieved 21 February 2005.
• Kitterick, Padraig. Profile of Atso Almila - National Youth Orchestra of Ireland website. Retrieved 21 February 2005.
• Korhonen, Kimmo (2003). Inventing Finnish Music - Contemporary Composers from Medieval to Modern (translated by Jaakko Mäntyjärvi). Finnish Music Information Centre.

Notes

1. Birth date supplied by IMDB

See also

• Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of OZ