The strength of the Sibelius Academy Folk Big Band rises from the collective creativity of close to fifty folk musicians. Each member is a player, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, soloist and ensemble musician -- as well as a skilled improviser! The orchestra performs without using a conductor or sheet music, with all the members communicating together in each given situation in a dynamic, rhythmic and expressive way, through improvisation and focus.
Despite our careful research of historical singing and playing styles, we see folk music as something that lives strongly in the present. It doesn't belong in museums; we live with it every single day. The Folk Big Band is a part of a 10,000-year continuum, and the only way to continue is to keep creating new folk music. The end result is something unprecedented, powerful and contagious -- it glows with pride for our own musical traditions! Sometimes more is more!