Two decades of vibrant cultural experiences at Sello Hall! Sello Hall celebrates its anniversary with a gala concert, during which multi-talented artists take listeners on a journey all the way from 2003 to today. The concert promises musical fireworks and an entertaining, hand-picked cavalcade of the best Finnish music from two decades.

The evergreens and memory-filled melodies will be interpreted by four soloists, Sami Saari, Nina Tapio, Aili Järvelä and Petrus Kähkönen. The gala orchestra will be led by the extremely talented tv-personality and conductor Katja Lappi, and the event will be hosted by the ever-charming Krisse Salminen and Mikko Silvennoinen. The songs interpreted by our four soloists will take listeners from 2003 all the way to today – but since Sello Hall is known as a versatile cultural and musical stage, the gala concert will, of course, include stellar surprises from the worlds of jazz, vocal, and classical music. The surprise performers will be published later, so stay tuned!

The musical content of the gala concert is made up of Finnish hits from between 2003 and 2023. Katja Lappi’s new arrangements offer fresh and exciting versions of old favourites: for example, how about the song “Syntisten pöytä” as a tango, yet spiced up with some electronic elements? Or perhaps Juice Leskinen’s composition and Jonna Tervomaa’s beloved hit ”Rakkauden haudalla” as a folk-retro style arrangement? Krisse Salminen and Mikko Silvennoinen will provide background information throughout the concert and guarantee a laughter-filled evening for everyone.

The gala orchestra will include Juho Puronaho (guitars, banjo, mandolin), Kalle Ylitalo (bass), Sami Zimmermann (clarinet, saxophone, keyboard) and Janne Mathlin (drums, percussion).

Hosts:

Krisse Salminen is a stand-up comedian, an actor and a host. She has been entertaining Finns with her unique princess style for over 20 years. Krisse’s stage personality firmly believes that less is not more when it comes to glitter and jewellery.

Mikko Silvennoinen is a journalist, producer and host, who is known to many as a commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest and the Contest for New Music UMK. Currently, he is working as the managing producer of the Yle Youth service. He also has his own podcast series All Male Panel.

Vocal soloists:

Sami Saari, the renowned pioneer of the Finnish soul genre, is a singer, guitarist and a versatile song writer. Since the late 1990s, he has gained a solid reputation with his radio hits, such as Ainutkertainen, Mä teen oikein and Onnen kyyneleet. In addition to the legendary Veeti & The Velvets, Sami Saari has also acted as the lead singer of the Dallapé orchestra and hosted musical programmes, along with advancing his own solo career. His latest band, Sami Saari ja Jazzpojat, is the proud messenger of joyful jazz.

Nina Tapio has made a long career as a singer and musical actor. She is known, among other things, from the band Taikapeili, as one of the Idols judges, and for numerous roles in musicals such as Mamma Mia, We Will Rock You and Les Miserables. You may even recognise Nina’s beautiful voice from several animated movies. She has also performed internationally with the band Adiemus. In autumn 2023, Nina Tapio will be starring in Helsinki City Theatre’s version of the musical "Dear Evan Hansen".

The creative music all-rounder Aili Järvelä is known as a soulful interpreter and versatile musician. In addition to her solo career, Järvelä is involved in the award-winning Bergå Folk Project, and, as a musician, actor and composer, in the musical Katrina, which will premiere in Lilla Theatre in January 2024. Järvelä released her latest solo album "Älä pelkää" in spring 2023.

Petrus Kähkönen is a multi-talented actor and musician who signed a contract with Helsinki City Theatre at the age of 21 and appeared in dozens of plays and musicals. Since 2019, Petrus has continued his career as a freelancer. His latest roles include Charlie in Helsinki City Theatre's hit musical Kinky Boots, Quasimodo in the Hunchback of Notre Dame at the Tampere Theatre, and Dimitri in Anastasia. Petrus is also a well-known voice actor with roles in hundreds of cartoons and dozens of animated movies under his belt, such as Turbo in Turbo, Branch in Trolls and Kristoff in Frozen 2.

Conductor:

Katja Lappi, the musical director of the concert, conductor of the gala orchestra, and musician behind the curation and adaptation of the songs, is well-known for her numerous TV performances as a pianist and conductor. With her roots in Espoo, Katja Lappi has worked as composer and arranger for both theatre and TV productions. Her best-known TV works include Siskonpeti, Putous and Rakkaat lapset.

Duration 2,5 h, incl. intermission

Sello Hall 20 years Gala Concert

The event “Sello Hall 20 years Gala Concert” has ended