Eva Alkula

Eva Alkula is one of the leading kantele artists in Finland. In 2003 she graduated with a Master of Music from the Sibelius-Academy in Helsinki where she studied contemporary and classical kantele music with lecturer Ritva Koistinen.In 1999-2000 Eva studied Japanese koto in Hokkaido University of Education in Sapporo, as a student of koto artist Yukiko Takagaki.Alkula has won the 1st prize in the National Kantele Competition for soloists in 2003. In 1999 Duo Rauta (Eva Alkula and Katja Pitkänen) won the 3rd prize in "Uussoitto" contemporary chaimber music competition. Alkula performs as a soloist and also in various chaimber music ensembles in Finland and abroad (e.g. Musica Orion, an ensemble of Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Finnish folk instruments). She has worked with several Finnish artists and musicians and joined music festivals such as The chaimber music week of Tuusulanjärvi and Tampere Biennale. Alkula has premiered works for kantele composed by various contemporary composers both in Finland and abroad. She has also worked as a musician in several theaters and operas like Von Krahl Theater (Tallinn), Savonlinna Opera Festival, The Finnish National Theater, The Swedish Theater in Helsinki and The Finnish National Opera. Working internationally as a musician is a big part of Alkula's work. She has performed around Europe, in USA and Japan from which the latter she visits regularly and works together with the local musicians. She has broadcasted in The Finnish Broadcasting Company, BBC, NHK (Japanese Broadcasting Company) and STV (Sapporo Television). In addition to acoustic kantele music Alkula also plays newly designed 39-string electric kantele. She has examined the electric kantele and its wide musical possibilities in different musical projects, such as a duo of experimental music, Memnon with sound designer Ville Hyvönen and operas "Koirien kalevala" composed by Jaakko Kuusisto for the Savonlinna Opera Festival and W.A. Mozart’s “Magic Flute” for the Von Krahl Theater in Tallinn.