Published: 9.4.2026
Text: Maleena Linjama
Editing: Viestintätoimisto Jokiranta
Photos: Juho Ingström

How did you become an artist?

I began composing and playing the piano at the age of six, but I never imagined I could become a real composer. At upper secondary school, I realised that music had to be my profession – nothing else interested me nearly as much. After upper secondary school, I trained as a piano pedagogue, and towards the end of my studies my teacher suggested I apply for composition studies. When the doors of the Sibelius Academy's composition programme opened to me, I knew I had found my place. Through determined work, a childhood dream has now become my profession. I want to lead by example and encourage girls and women in particular to pursue composition studies. The most important thing is a burning desire to make music – everything else can be learnt.

What is your relationship with nature?

When I was learning to speak, one of my first complete sentences was: "What bird is singing?" Now, years later, almost all of my compositions relate to birds or nature. News of forest felling, biodiversity loss and indifference in the face of the climate crisis cuts me to the heart. Through my art, I want to make visible the things we so often take for granted. What would the world sound like without birdsong? What would our lives look like, feel like, or smell like without forests? I also want to inspire hope. With swift conservation action, it is possible to preserve the extraordinary diversity of species.

The forest is a vital haven of peace for me. I have also taken my four-year-old child to the forest since early childhood, and we started mushroom picking together as soon as the little one learned to walk. For many people, the most important forests are found close to home – nothing can replace nearby nature and the strength it offers.

 

Tell us a bit about your project that the Foundation is funding.

I was sitting with my friend Hanna Tikka at Villa Elfvik, Espoo's environmental education centre, during its Alkukesän lintuyö event, when we had an idea: Villa Elfvik should host a concert! The thought took flight, and now, thanks to a grant from the Sakari Alhopuro Foundation, we are able to realise a series of no fewer than three bird-themed concerts in the summer of 2026. Hanna is responsible for production, and I serve as the series' artistic director.
Each concert has its own theme, and each will also feature an expert talk on a bird-related topic. The concerts will be held at Villa Elfvik's nature centre, and the proceeds will go towards the nature education and conservation work of Villa Elfvikin Ystävät ry (Friends of Villa Elfvik).

The driving force behind our concert series is a love of music and birds. We aim to bring these themes together in an artistically and intellectually rewarding form that transcends genre boundaries. We also want to highlight the outstanding conservation work carried out at Villa Elfvik, and to encourage ever more people to pay attention to nearby nature and the species that share our world. Alongside these nature values, the content of our series is rooted in an artistic passion for high-quality bird-themed works. Birds have evidently served as a source of inspiration for artists since time immemorial – there are enough moving, cheerful and touching bird-themed works to fill several concert series.

 

What does art mean to you? 

There is not a single people in the world without culture. I compose because I must: there is an enormous amount of music inside me that needs to come out, to be heard and to be set down as notes on paper. 

Without culture, we have no inner life.

What has been the greatest art experience of your life? 

A year ago I experienced the spell-poetry concert Äänetär by the vocal collective Sabrina ja Saarten tyttäret and Jonna "Nihkee" Nummela. Together with the rest of the audience, I wept, laughed and felt a powerful, ancient connection to the generations of women who came before us. When the work ended, it felt as though someone had stroked my soul. I would wish every person the chance to experience such a profound and cleansing encounter with art at least once in their lifetime.

Concert details on Maleena Linjama's website:

Concert info