Wandering Tales – 80 Years of Tampereen Kamarimusiikkiseura

Tampereen Kamarimusiikkiseura was founded on 2 October 1946 at Hotel Tammer by ten music enthusiasts from Tampere. The founding evening concluded with a performance of Schubert’s String Quartet Op. 125 No. 1. The first public concert took place in November at City Hall, featuring the Helsinki Quartet.

The society’s own orchestra was formed in November 1953. Eero Kosonen, who also conducted the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra for 37 years, became its conductor. The orchestra settled into an ensemble of 14–18 players, combining professional musicians and amateurs. Its repertoire consisted mainly of concertos by early masters such as Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, and Corelli.

Alongside the orchestra, smaller ensembles have operated within the society, often gathering in members’ homes, such as the “Engineers’ Quartet,” the “Humanists’ Quartet,” and the “Ranttali Quartet.” Even today, the orchestra includes members from a wide range of professions. Four current players are former members of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra.

Jorma Panula, who later became the orchestra’s conductor in the late 1950s, also played in the Ranttali Quartet. During his tenure, the orchestra began to explore contemporary music. After Panula, no professional conductor was found, and the role was taken on by pastor Eero Veneskoski, whose tenure lasted 25 years. Alongside its own performances, the orchestra began organizing major concerts featuring both Finnish and international top musicians. The “Autumn Sounds” festival was held for a couple of decades with support from the City of Tampere.

After Veneskoski, the orchestra was led by Béla Tanító, who moved to Finland from Hungary. In the 1990s, he took the orchestra on international tours to Hungary, Norway, the UK, and France, and later also to Estonia and Germany. Finnish music, especially Merikanto’s Summer Evening Waltz, received the warmest applause abroad.

Before Miika Jämsä, the orchestra has also been conducted by Aarre Hemming, Paavo Rautio, Risto Mikkola, Pekka Ahonen, Janne Marttila, and Juhani Tepponen. Baroque music has remained at the core of its repertoire, complemented by Classical and Romantic works, including Sibelius, as well as contemporary music. The orchestra presents 4–6 concerts annually, mainly in churches. Soloists have represented a wide range of instruments, from baroque organ to vibraphone.

In recent years, the orchestra has collaborated with Tampere parishes, performing in quartets at services and care homes. Rehearsals take place weekly in the crypt hall of Tampere Cathedral. In addition to parish support, the orchestra receives funding from the City of Tampere.

The challenge for an amateur orchestra is to achieve a solid musical standard while maintaining enthusiasm for playing. Today’s level is for audiences to judge, but making music has certainly brought joy and meaning to the lives of its performers.

Text: Olli Lehtipuu, Chair of Tampereen Kamarimusiikkiseura

Miika Jämsä graduated from the Oulu Conservatory in 1986 as a cello teacher under Lauri Laitinen and continued his studies with Pauli Heikkinen, completing his A-level diploma in cello performance in 1989. He played with the Oulu City Orchestra from 1983 to 1986 and has been a cellist with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra since 1986.

He appeared as a soloist with the Tampereen Kamarimusiikkiseura’s orchestra in December 2012, which led to his appointment as its conductor in January 2013. Chamber music is especially close to Jämsä’s heart. He has also performed as a continuo cellist in numerous baroque productions, and working with leading Finnish baroque musicians has been particularly inspiring. Several members of his family have become professional musicians, and their family ensemble was awarded the Ylöjärvi Cultural Prize in 2006.

His favourite pastimes include jogging, birdwatching, photography, and building string instruments.

Topi Lehtipuu is one of Finland’s most internationally acclaimed musicians. His wide-ranging tenor repertoire spans early music, Bach, Mozart, and contemporary works. He has collaborated with conductors such as Ivor Bolton, René Jacobs, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Riccardo Muti, Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Daniel Harding.

Recent highlights include the title role in Mark Grey’s opera Frankenstein at La Monnaie in Brussels and performances in Tero Saarinen’s multidisciplinary Third Practice.

Other projects include the role of the Witch in Hansel and Gretel with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and a return to Salzburg’s Mozart Week. Premieres include Péter Eötvös’s Oratorium Balbulum, written for Lehtipuu and performed at the Salzburg Festival with the Vienna Philharmonic in multiple cities worldwide, as well as works by Jukka Tiensuu and Brett Dean.

He has performed Bach’s St Matthew Passion in New York and at the BBC Proms with Peter Sellars, Sir Simon Rattle, and the Berlin Philharmonic. His recordings include the Grammy-nominated DVD The Rake’s Progress and the BBC Music Magazine Award-winning Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

Lehtipuu has also gained acclaim as a conductor, with performances of Bach’s St John Passion and Mozart’s Requiem. He is particularly interested in dramatized concerts and continues to collaborate widely.

Alongside his artistic career, he has served as Artistic Director and CEO of the Helsinki Festival (2015–2018) and Artistic Director of the Turku Music Festival (2010–2015). He is also the founder of the cultural consultancy Long Play Lab, involved in international music projects, including establishing a music academy in Southeast Asia and developing a new music city in India (2026–2028).

After graduating from the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki and the Amsterdam Conservatory opera programme, baritone Jussi Lehtipuu has performed widely across Europe in solo recitals, opera productions, oratorios, and contemporary music, often combining different art forms and eras.

He performs early music extensively, especially in the Netherlands, with ensembles such as the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Holland Baroque, Florilegium Musicum, and Dutch Baroque, as well as in France with Les Talents Lyriques and Ensemble Matheus.

In Finland, he appears frequently as a soloist with the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, and various festival ensembles. He has also worked with European baroque ensembles such as Vox Luminis and the Wrocław Baroque Ensemble.

His repertoire extends beyond baroque music, including works by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven performed with fortepianists Petra Somlai and Keiko Shichijo. His lied performances include Schubert’s Winterreise and Schumann’s Dichterliebe.

Lehtipuu has appeared in opera, including Schaunard in Puccini’s La Bohème at Vaasa Opera, but has recently focused on contemporary opera, premiering works by composers such as Jamie Man, Riikka Talvitie, Raphaël Cendo, and Meriç Artaçıl.

He is also active in interdisciplinary projects combining singing, cello, and dance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he received funding from the Kone Foundation for a monologue opera project. In 2022, he performed in Eros, a work combining dance and early music, at Dance House Helsinki.

Recent projects include the stage work A Revue in Paris (2023). As a Bach specialist, he is active particularly in the Netherlands’ rich cantata tradition, including numerous Passion performances. He also performs regularly in Finland, most recently in Tampere as an aria soloist in Bach’s St John Passion.