Diane Jarvi P.O. Box 19274 Minneapolis MN 55419 (612) 822-5273 www.dianejarvi.com Work Samples Audio: Flying Into Blue Mullach A'Tsi Pieni Sydan (The Little Heart) To hear the work samples, Windows Media Player is required. If you do not have it installed, you can download it for free here: Download Windows Media Player

Diane Jarvi Finnish, multiethnic music Diane Jarvi is a versatile singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. She is a Minnesota native whose grandparents emigrated from Finland, and it was her Finnish heritage which led her to an intensive study of Finnish music, including studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, for which she received a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Her recording of Finnish tangos, traditional folk songs, and regional music sung in dialect has led to extensive radio play and performances at many festivals in Finland and the U.S. She is known in Finland as "Minnesotan Satakeili"óthe Minnesota nightingale. She also sings and records her own original songs in contemporary folk style and performs a variety of world music, including songs from Mexico, Cabo Verde, Brazil, and France. She has three solo CD recordings that include her original songs, and Finnish and world music. A published poet (Divining the Landscape, New Rivers Press), Jarvi has won several awards and a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship. Available: Anytime; no mileage restrictions Space: Performance requires 5 by 5 ft.; sound system needed; can provide. Fee: Negotiable

Additional Information:
Diane Jarvi performs Finnish music from a variety of traditions, as well as songs from Mexico, Cabo Verde, Brazil, and France.

The traditional Finnish music that Diane plays includes both ancient and relatively recent forms. Her repertoire incorporates Finnish Tangos, which first emerged in the 1930s and are now deeply identified with Finnish culture; songs from the Russian-influenced Karelian region; music from the Sami, whose ancient culture has roots in Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the Russian Kola peninsula; and songs from Ingria. She is an exceptional singer, but she also plays guitar, several kinds of kanteles (zither-like stringed instruments), and the jouhikko, a 3-stringed bowed lyre. The kantele, which is most commonly found in 5-, 10-, and 36-string configurations, has especially deep roots in Finland. Archaeologists have found evidence that these instruments have been played in the region since prehistoric times. Beginning in the 1950s, there was a revival of interest in the kantele, and today it is once again widespread in Finnish folk music.

Diane was born in Minnesota, the grandchild of Finnish immigrants. She was first introduced to Finnish folk music through tunes that she learned at home. Several years later, as she became more interested in her Finnish heritage, Diane joined Koivun Kaiku, a kantele ensemble. With the assistance of a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Diane studied with Martti Pokela, Toivo Alaspää, Hannu Saha, and other Finnish master musicians at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. She has also worked to revive songs from old recordings, and from sheet music that was brought to the U.S. by immigrants. Diane also performs her own original songs in contemporary folk style, as well as music from a variety of other cultures. She is also a published poet, and a teacher of guitar and 5-, 10-, and 36-string kantele. Her recordings of traditional music have earned her many fans in Finland and the U.S. In Finland, she is known as "Minnesotan Satakeili" – the Minnesota nightingale. For the year 2000, Diane was named the Finlandia Foundation's Performer of the Year. She was also a recipient of a McKnight MacPhail Fellowship grant.

(www.dianejarvi.com Diane also recommends Gerry Henkel's www.kantele.com for more information on kantele history)