Acclaimed Musicians Perform at Vesterheim

World-renowned Finnish composer and master fiddler Arto Järvelä together with the new Finnish-American acoustic folk band Kaivama will include Vesterheim as a venue in their Midwest concert tour.

The concert will be on June 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Vesterheim’s Bethania Church at 113 N. Mill Street. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Advance tickets are at Vesterheim’s Museum Store, 502 W. Water Street. Performances are open to all ages.

“The music you will hear in this concert is from a living tradition—it has its roots in the folk music and dance traditions shared by all the Nordic countries, but it is also absolutely contemporary,” said Martha Griesheimer, Vesterheim Volunteer Coordinator and one of the concert organizers, along with Beth Rotto and AmaliaVagts from Decorah.

The concert, hosted by Vesterheim and the band Foot-Notes, is sponsored by Randi Spencer-Berg M.D., of Gundersen Lutheran-Harmony Clinic, and her family members Matthew, Aidan, Anna-Elisabeth, and Kaj.

There will be workshops for musicians with Järvelä and Kaivama band members on the afternoon of June 15. Contact Beth Rotto at bethrotto@gmail.com for more information about the workshops.

“We are excited to welcome these musicians to Vesterheim. The museum is a perfect setting for their musical performances and musician workshop,” Steve Johnson, Vesterheim Executive Director, said.

Multi-instrumentalist and composer, Arto Järvelä is one of Finland's most accomplished folk musicians and a third generation fiddler in the Kaustinen tradition. He has represented Finnish music and culture in more than 30 countries and returns to the United States after previous tours with the legendary Finnish fiddle band JPP, as well as a solo 2009 artist-in-residence position at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago.

Finnish-American musicians Sara Pajunen and Jonathan Rundman have teamed up to form a new folk music duo called Kaivama. The name Kaivama stems from the Finnish word “kaivaa”; to delve or dig. Pajunen’s unique prowess on the fiddle and Rundman’s versatility on guitar, harmonium, piano, and banjo allow Kaivama to explore a surprising variety of sonic textures. Audiences from performance halls to folk festivals to rock clubs are captivated by this duo’s instrumental skill and fresh approach in creating music that is alternately joyous, primitive, experimental, haunting, and time-honored.

The tour includes venues at Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Illinois, and the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Both Järvelä and Kaivama are releasing new CDs.