27th April 2024, 16:00 BST / 17:00 CEST / 18:00 Finland
Mannerheimintie 13a, 00100, Helsinki
A big concert for our planet! Six well-known solo choirs, a vocal group, soloists and a large choir accompanied by a band will be seen on stage.
Choirs for Ecocide Law is a Finnish-Swedish rhythmic music choral project whose main purpose is to spread awareness about international environmental destruction (Ecocide Law). The project was launched at the World Choir Symposium (WSCM) in Istanbul in April 2023, and now the first large-scale Choirs for Ecocide Law concert will be heard in Musiikkitalo.
The soloist ensembles Grex Musicus, Musta Lammas, Higher Ground Voices, Vaskivuori High School Chamber Choir, Tampere Ihankaikkinen Kuninkaallinen Tuomikooro, Philomela and Flok will perform at the concert. The concert consists of fifteen songs composed in the style of popular music, whose composers are from around the world.
All participating artists, musicians, choirs, director, production and graphics donate their work for the project. Any proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Stop Ecocide Foundation.
The most important message of the concert is that there is a positive opportunity to nurture our common planet. Welcome to the concert, where a thousand choir members sing about their joys and sorrows, frustrations and hopes related to nature.
After the concert, there will be a panel discussion in the concert hall about the meaning of the criminalization of natural destruction and the current situation between different countries, the ICC, the European Union and other key parties. The panel discussion was moderated by Panu Halme, a university lecturer in nature conservation biology from the University of Jyväskylä. Authoritative decision-making body representatives and researchers from Finland and abroad will be heard as discussants.
Panelists:
Jojo Mehta
Jojo Mehta founded the Stop Ecocide International people's movement in 2017 to support the criminalization of natural destruction at the International Criminal Court.
Ida Korhonen
Ida is an activist of the forest movement who has organized several demonstrations demanding the protection of valuable natural sites and has spoken and written actively on the subject.
Kaarlo Hildén
Kaarlo is a versatile professional in the field of music who currently works as the rector of the University of the Arts.
Ville Niinistö
Ville is a member of the European Parliament who has promoted international nature-protecting legislation in his work.
Performing soloist ensembles:
Grex Musicus, conducted by Kirsi Tunkkari
Musta Lammas
Hgher Ground Vocals, conducted by Hanna-Maria Helenius
Vaskivuori High School Chamber Choir, conducted by Jonna Vehmanen
Tampere Ihankaikkinen Kuninkaallinen Tuomikuoro, conducted by Petra Poutanen
Philomela, conducted by Jennifer Moir
Flok
Choirs singing in the Suurkuoro - leaders Merzi Rajala, Kirsi Kaunismäki - Suhonen
All 4 Voices
CheerLeader Singers
Choirs for Ecocide Law single Singers
Cocktail Cats Ensemble
Treble
Choir
Global Choir, Sibelius Academy
Global Choir Leadership, Sibelius Academy Go!Vocals
Gospel Helsinki
Happy Voices Päikkärit
Harjun Laulu
Helianthus
Helsinki Queer Feminist Choir
Helsinki Natural Science High School Choir
Helsinki Työväenopisto singers
Kailo
Folk Choir Hytkyt
Latin singers
Laulamo Group
Vocal group Luna
Lempikouro
Open Voice
Partita
Sing & Shine Choirs
Sound Of Faith
TTY Mixed Choir Futuri
Vinokuu
Voice of Wanders
Vola
Väki
Ö-kör
Artistic working group and conceptualization of the Choirs for Ecocide Law project
Merzi Rajala, artistic director
Kirsi Kaunismäki-Suhonen, artistic producer
Peder Karlsson, artistic producer
Composers
Simon Marainen, Kevin Fox, Federico Trindade, Chris Hutchings, Astrid Vang-Pedersen, Merzi Rajala, Peder Karlsson, Genevieve Andersen, Moira Smiley, Simone Tandbrg Christensen.
The concert is directed by
Merzi Rajala and Kirsi Kaunismäki-Suhonen
The voice of
Ilkka Herkman