Markku Klami

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Composer Markku Klami is fascinated by time and the way we humans perceive it. He writes music that feels true in his heart, without having the need to fit into any specific style, genre or technical approach in composing.

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”I am fascinated by the capability of music to affect the way we perceive time. In my experience music has the ability to provoke the feeling of getting beyond (or outside) time and surroundings around us. In a way or another, these experiences in my life have always been connected to music. They remain an endless source of inspiration to me”, says Klami.

Klami's output spans over a variety of ensembles - he has written instrumental music from solo works to orchestral works with and without soloists, chamber music, works making use of electronics, two operas and other vocal music as well as purely electronic music and a couple of soundtracks for short movies.

His music has been performed around Nordic countries, Europe, North America and South America, Russia and China in festivals including Nordic Music Days (Denmark), Zagreb Music Biennale (Croatia), Musica nova Helsinki, Tampere Biennale, Turku Music Festival, Viitasaari Time of Music (Finland), Taiwan International Guitar Festival, Atlantic Music Festival (USA), Nuovi Spatzi Musicali and Rebus Festival (Italy). In 2011 Klami was featured in the program of European Capital of Culture in Turku, Finland with two large-scale works commissioned for the event: an one-hour children's opera ”Tulevaisuuden retki” ("A Future Trek") and mixed-media work ”REPEAT" for soloist, electronics and video.

Commissioners and performers of his music include guitarists Timo Korhonen, Patrik Kleemola, Kimmo Rahunen, Patrick Vena, Rody van Gemert, Janne Malinen, Mikko Ikäheimo (Finland), Shin-ichi Fukuda (Japan), Thomas Müller-Pering (Germany), Massimo Felici (Italy), Fabio de Oliveira (Brazil/Finland), clarinetists Lauri Sallinen (Finland) and Lucy Abrams (USA/Finland), flutists Alice Teyssier (USA) and Hanna Kinnunen (Finland), bandoneónist Henrik Sandås (Finland), pianists Tuomas Niininen (Finland) and Bocheng Wang (England), singers Joonas Eloranta, Anna-Kristiina Kaappola, Teppo Lampela, Merja Mäkelä, Jouni Kokora, Mia Heikkinen and Eija Räisänen (Finland), International Contemporary Ensemble (USA), Uusinta Chamber Ensemble (Finland), The Polytech Choir (Finland), Studio for New Music Ensemble (Russia), Avanti! Orchestra, The Helsinki Strings and Pori Sinfonietta (Finland).

During the years 2018-2019 Klami is working with the support of Finnish Cultural Foundation (1-year grant for composing for 2018) and Arts Promotion Centre Finland (1-year artist grant for composing for 2019). His previous grants include working and commission grants from Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Finnish Cultural Foundation (Uusimaa regional fund), Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, The Sibelius Fund, The Madetoja Fund and The Finnish Music Foundation. On March 2018 "Croak", the first large-scale puppet opera produced in Nordic countries got its first performances in Pori, Finland. ”Croak” is composed by Klami and his colleague Maria Kallionpää. Both composers have written their own segments for both acts of the opera.

Klami has won two first prizes in Finnish national composition competitions with his orchestral works "Flow" for string orchestra (2004) and "sight - energy - vague - ocean" for symphony orchestra (2005, rev. 2006). His clarinet concerto "FUME" (2008, rev. 2010) was selected to the Jury's list of recommended works in the 2nd International Uuno Klami composition competition in 2009, which received nearly 200 works around the world.

Klami graduated from Sibelius Academy (Master of Music in composition) in 2010 and Turku University of Applied Sciences (Bachelor of Arts in music theory and pedagogy) in 2006. He has attended master classes given by Magnus Lindberg, Jukka Tiensuu, Kimmo Hakola and Jouni Kaipainen (Finland), Anders Eliasson (Sweden), Bent Sørensen (Denmark), Luigi Abbate (Italy), David Ludwig and Robert Paterson (USA).

In addition to composing, Klami is active in the field of music education and holding several positions of trust in Finnish music organizations. He is member of the board of Society of Finnish Composers and Finnish Music Council. He is also active in several projects focusing on pedagogy of music composition in Finland, including Ääneni äärelle ("Finding my Voice", coordinated by Society of Finnish Composers) and SäPe ("Pedagogy of Composition", coordinated by Metropolia University of Applied Scienes).

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