Works
Orchestra
Polar Pearls (2023)
concerto for chamber orchestra
24'
I Become...
II Amethyst
III Freshwater Pearl Mussel
IV Sooty-wing Butterfly
V Snowy Owl
VI Globeflower
VII Halo Sky
VIII Earth
Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen
The Arctic regions have warmed much faster than the rest of the world as climate change advances. Many endangered Arctic species, such as the freshwater pearl mussel and the snowy owl, are now endangered. A poem by Nils-Aslak Valkeapää views his fellow Sámi –indigenous dwellers of the Arctic zone – as such an inseparable part of their environment that the border between Man and Nature ceases to exist. Eyes are turning more and more towards the indigenous peoples as the environmental destruction caused by climate change proceeds: we are, maybe instinctively, looking to them in our search for a new model as we realise that our lifestyle and overconsumption are destroying not only Nature but us, too.
The Concerto for Chamber Orchestra Polar Pearls is like a bracelet of little character movements – tributes to our unique Arctic Nature and its delicate balance. I have dedicated the concerto to John Storgårds and the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, giving the gems in its ranks each in turn a chance to shine.
"[...] when they come
they will find his land, us
and we are stones, plants, animals, fishes,
water, wind earth, sky [...]"
–Nils-Aslak Valkeapää (translated by Ralph Salisbury and Harald Gaski)
Premiere: June 1, 2023
Salla Church, Salla, Finland
Lapland Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds
June 2, 2023
Korundi Hall, Rovaniemi, Finland
Lapland Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds
September 23, 2023
PianoEspoo Festival
Espoo Cultural Centre, Finland
Lapland Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds
February 13, 2024
Hyvinkään City Hall, Hyvinkää, Finland
Hyvinkään City Orchestra, cond. Tuomas Pirilä
May 4, 2024
Konserthaus, Klagenfurt, Austria
Lapland Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds
June 25, 2025
Art Factory, Porvoo, Finland
Avanti Summer Sounds Festival
Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds
September 4, 2025
Pori Church, Pori, Finland
Pori Sinfonietta, cond. Janne Nisonen
October 1, 2025
Paviljonki, Jyväskylä, Finland
Jyväskylä Sinfonia, cond. Ville Matvejeff
October 1, 2025
Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds