The festival, which was held for the fourth time from August 1-4, once again succeeded in gathering classical music lovers to Luosto, Pyhätunturi and Sodankylä.
This year’s theme was Echoes of History. The programme included familiar classics and newer music. This year, the aim was to highlight, among other things, works by female composers which have long been neglected in history books.
History was also reflected in the choice of concert venues, such as the Porttikoski lava, which was built in the 1960s by the Aska Country Club, and is linked to Lapland’s culture of log floating.
There were ten concerts, of which five were sold out this year. The ticket sales targets were met.
There were just over 1000 concert visits. The main concert attracted almost 350 people to Ukko-Luosto. The concert featured the Jyväskylä Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Aku Sorensen.
– The audience praised the diversity of the programme and the artistic quality of the performers. It’s really fantastic that people from all over Finland have found their way to us,” says Aku Sorensen, the festival’s artistic director.
The pre-festival pop-up performances in Sodankylä, Luosto and Pyhätunturi and the morning performances on Friday and Saturday also attracted the audience. These free public events were attended by more than 170 music lovers and pop-up visitors.
– We are very happy that after a couple of rainy summers, the weather favoured our outdoor concerts. The unique open-air venues in the region are one of our attractions, and we will continue to hold on to them despite the weather risks,” says Helena Lemminkäinen, the festival’s producer.
Shuttle buses were organised from Luosto to the concert venues. The purpose of the shuttle services is to make it as easy as possible for the public to get to the concert venues, thus improving accessibility for those without cars and reducing the number of private cars in the natural environment.
The Sounds of Luosto festival and the nature of Lapland are a unique experience for artists, which was reflected in the desire of many artists to play at Luosto again next year.
Preparations for the 2025 festival are underway, and the programme will be published in March 2025. The festival is organised by Kuusikko soi ry, which was founded in 2019.