Sounds of Finland Concert In Toronto At The George Weston Recital Hall

The Sounds of Finland concert will be on Sunday, February 5th , 2017 at 3:00 pm, in the George Weston Recital Hall of the Toronto Centre for the Arts.

The concert, celebrating 100 years of Finnish independence, will feature individual artists, instrumental ensembles and a massed choir drawn from all corners of the Finnish community; the program will span Finnish music from the Kalevala to the contemporary, from the kantele and traditional pelimanni favourites to virtuoso classical artistry. We have something special to celebrate, Finland gained its independence from Russia on December 6, 1917.

Responsibility for the organisation of Finland’s centenary year celebrations rests with the Finland 100 Years organisation in the Prime Minister’s Office. The General Secretary of Finland 100 Years is Pekka Timonen of the PMO. The theme of Finland’s centenary celebration year is ‘Together’. So far, about 3000 projects in 70 countries around the world have been officially approved as partners in the Suomi Finland 100 celebrations. Many of these projects include multiple events. The Government of Finland maintains active ties with expatriate Finns around the world. Expatriate Finns are seen as a national resource; they make Finland and Finnish culture known abroad, and they often bring knowledge and skills acquired abroad back to Finland. The Finnish Expatriate Parliament, established 1997, is a Finnish government forum, which allows Finns living around the world to raise issues they deem important, to bring collective expatriate decisions to the attention of the Finnish Government and to advocate for the views of expatriates in Finnish public policy decision making.

Finland 100 Toronto is a non-profit volunteer led group organizing a variety of celebrations in the Greater Toronto Area. It is an official partner in the worldwide Suomi Finland 100 network. (Suomi is the Finnish name for Finland.)

Sounds of Finland is the first event of the year in Toronto. Other events include "Party on Ice", on March 4th, a favourite Finnish family event with celebrities. A Finnish Film Festival in the fall and a Grand Gala banquet, concert and dance on December 3.

We have been blessed with Corporate sponsors for Finland 100 Toronto which include Forbes Manhattan, Miller Thomson, Uponor, KONE, Neste and Finnair.

The 2011 Canadian census found that 136,215 Canadians claimed Finnish ancestry. Of those 74,505 lived in Ontario concentrated in Toronto, Thunder Bay and the Greater Sudbury area.

For further information, please visit the web site www.finland100toronto.com or www.facebook.com/finland100toronto.