Date/Time
Date(s) - 05/25/2019
8:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Location
Berkeley's Finnish Kaleva Hall
Category(ies)
- Acoustic
- Music
- All Ages
- Avant-Garde
- Culture
- Electronic
- Ensemble
- Folk
- Improvisation
- International
- Jazz
- Premiere
- New Music
- Sonic
- World
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The Finnish Heritage Society present Rent Romus and Heikki Koskinen’s debut of “Manala”, a musical adventure weaving the elements of jazz, Finnish folk, and free improvisation inspired by the mythic prose of cultural liberation and identity found in the rune poems of the Kalevala as well as folklore of Finno-Ugric cultural traditions and shamanic stories.
This epic debut will take place at the newly restored historic Berkeley Finnish Hall presented as part of the Finnish Heritage Society’s spring cultural events programming performed by Rent Romus’ Life’s Blood Ensemble.
Life’s Blood Ensemble Performing Artists
- Timothy Orr– drums, percussion
- Rent Romus – alto and soprano saxophone, flutes, kantele, bells
- Heikki “Mike” Kosikinen – e-trumpet, tenor recorder, kantele
- Mark Clifford – vibes
- Cheryl E. Leonard – invented instruments
- Gabby Fluke-Mogul – violin
- Max Judelson – double bass
- Joshua Marshall – tenor and soprano saxophones
- Safa Shokrai – double bass
Manala or Tuonela is the metaphysical netherworld in the Finnish Kalevala or Jabmeaivo in Sami traditions. It is a place opposite of the land of the living, a destination for the soul after this life, a place of reflection that contains answers to mysteries of the universe for the Noaidde or Noita (shaman) in Fino-Ugric cultures. It can be very dangerous for a living person to journey there, and only the most experienced shaman may successfully emerge from its dark waters richer in knowledge and song for the experience.
The appearance of the Rent Romus’ Life’s Blood Ensemble is made possible through the Grants for Cultural Projects Program, which is administered by Finlandia Foundation National.
Manala is made possible in part by Suomi-Seura-ry Grants for Foreign Societies awarded by the Ministry of Education and Culture Helsinki Finland.