Baltic Sea Blues – Kymi Sinfonietta’s and Eero Koivistoinen’s Baltic Sea themed world premiere production

Organisation: Kymenlaakson orkesteri Oy

Time: 12/31/2010 – 12/31/2012

Description:

Kymi Sinfonietta’s and Eero Koivistoinen’s Baltic Sea Blues project advances awareness and protection of the Baltic Sea by means of art and music. The content of the project includes Eero Koivistoinen’s composition work (Baltic Sea Blues) for Kymi Sinfonietta and jazz trio, combining composition with visual arts in both artistically and technically high-quality manner and performing the whole work in the world premiere concerts likely to be heard in the cities of Kotka, Kouvola and – depending on financial resources – in Helsinki and elsewhere in the autumn season 2012. The concert programme will also include other previously composed pieces of music that have connections to the Baltic Sea theme.

The planning of the Baltic Sea themed world premiere production by one of the most appreciated Finnish jazz musicians and composers Eero Koivistoinen and one of the leading Finnish orchestras Kymi Sinfonietta was started in 2010. Eero Koivistoinen and Kymi Sinfonietta had been in contact regarding the co-operation that would combine Koivistoinen’s Baltic Sea themed composition and jazz music with Kymi Sinfonietta couple of years before. Baltic Sea Action Summit held in Helsinki in 2010 brought the idea forth again. Koivistoinen started to compose Baltic Sea related composition Baltic Sea Blues for the orchestra. Kymi Sinfonietta took enthusiastically part in the planning process of the Baltic Sea Blues’ world premiere production.

One of the interesting aspects of the Baltic Sea Blues is that as it will be composed for Kymi Sinfonietta and jazz trio it is not only based on completed orchestral score but also on improvisation that will have different forms in every concert. The project co-operation will also have a wider Baltic Sea perspective as the jazz trio will probably be combined of musicians from different Baltic Sea countries. The main focus of the composition – Baltic Sea – will be brought forward in the performances both through music and high-quality visual material. The visual material of the performance will present Baltic Sea through moving image and photographs that have been taken from different angles – for example air and water. The high-quality visual material of the performance will be projected on pAnorama-screen in the background of the stage and visual and musical material will communicate with each other during the piece. Practical arrangements and the planning of the visual side of the performances have been forwarded together by the orchestra and Eero Koivistoinen.

Objective of commitment and its impact on the Baltic Sea:

What makes Koivistoinen’s and Kymi Sinfonietta’s joint project unique is that the composition is not only based on completed composed material but also on jazz improvisation. Therefore the performance of the piece will vary in every concert. High-quality visual material seen in the background of the performance and music will create seamless artistic entity. The combination of music and visual material will bring forth the Baltic Sea issue in a unique and thoughts provoking way.