December 20th: MKHAT Theatre, Moscow, Russia

December 19th: DK Lensoveta, St. Petersburg, Russia

December 16th: 7 p.m., Musiikkikeskus, Kuopio (sold out)

December 15th: 7 p.m., Caribia, Turku

December 12th: 7 p.m., Sibeliustalo, Lahti (sold out)

December 6th: 7 p.m., Tamperetalo, Tampere

December 5th: 7 p.m., Paviljonki, Jyväskylä

December 3rd: 7 p.m., Areena, Joensuu

November 25th: 7 p.m., Kulttuuritalo, Helsinki

Tarja Turunen and Tapiola choir sing for a better tomorrow for childrens of Laos and Carelia, 7 p.m., Espoon Kulttuurikeskus, Tapiolasali Kaupinkalliontie 10 / Kulttuuriaukio 2, Tapiola, Finland
www.espoo.fi/unicef www.tapiolankuoro.com.

The power of music
 
Tarja Turunen and the Tapiola Choir showed the power of music in their UNICEF-concert "Tomorrow"s child" November 7th at the Espoo Cultural Centre.
Espoo has the honour of being named the UNICEF-city of 2006, at the same time as UNICEF celebrates it"s 60 years of helping children.
Tarja and the Tapiola Choir donated their fees and the ticket income of the concert reached a stunning 18 688 euros, which was directed untouched to the Espoo UNICEF-account. With this sum UNICEF can provide basic vaccination for more than 2300 children in Laos.
During the year, information on UNICEF"s work and the state of the world"s children is being spread all around Espoo, at the same time as dozens of events are being organized in order to collect money for UNICEF-projects in Laos and Karelia.
The Russian Karelia is not only physically close, but also has a place in many Finnish hearts. Just beyond the border children suffer from the poverty of the families, caused by massive unemployment. These two in turn cause numerous other problems such as alcoholism and violence. UNICEF"s work in Karelia therefore focuses strongly on child protection and welfare.
The faraway Laos is the poorest country in South-East Asia, where 40 % of the population live under the poverty line, meaning with less than a dollar / day. The child mortality rate is also high, one out of ten children never live to see their 5th birthday. In Laos UNICEF focuses on basic needs such as clean water, vaccinations and other basic healthcare, and getting the children to school.
 
Tarja and the Choir brought in to the donation account of UNICEF the biggest income of any singular event during the year in Finland!

If you want to know more about UNICEF and their work, access www.unicef.com

Savonlinna-Sali, Savonlinna
FinlandKuusaa-sali, Kuusankoski, Finland
Passionskirche, Marheinekeplatz 1, Berlin, Germany.
Jona - Jugendkirche Frankfurt, Holbeinstraße 70, Frankfurt, Germany.
Casino L"AlianÇa del Poble Nou, Rambla de PobleNou, 43 Barcelona, Spain
Thalia Hall in Sibiu, Romania

Tarja Turunen: While I was studying in Karlsruhe´s Music University, in Germany, in 2002, I started to be very interested in performing Scandinavian songs for the Latin American audience. I gathered information about these countries and realised that composers like J.Sibelius or E.Grieg were not so familiar in their classical music genre. As I was particularly studying German lied music, I felt there might be a chance to let them know a bit of my music.

Noche Escandinava accurately reflects the lied song format or original song format, written to be sang by one person, composed with artistic ambitions but in an intimate style, devoid of vocal impressions and in which poetry and music melt completely, the last one in service of the first one and not vice versa. Northern music possesses particular qualities, that remind of the sensations generated by visions of rough winters, covered by white, immaculate snow and crystalline, calm water lakes that have their quietness interrupted only by the presence of an occasional passer by. Scandinavian song reaches it"s top between the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, and was influenced mainly by German music and by Central Europe"s music in general.

I talked with two friends of mine, Ingvild and Marjut and we decided to start organizing a small tour in South America. As a pianist, our dear friend Izumi wanted to join us. NEMS Enterprises (Nightwish"s Argentinian record company) contacted the right persons, booked the concert halls and announced it in news papers and in local radio stations. Noche Escandinava means Scandinavian Night in Spanish. The reason why we chose this name was obvious at that time: the concerts were going to happen in Argentina and Chile, both Spanish speaking countries. As well, we were two Finnish singers and a Norwegian one and the program was going to be based in Scandinavian songs (Norway, Sweden, etc).

During their first tour with Noche Escandinava, in May - June 20002, Tarja Turunen sang in company of Marjut Paavilainen (Finnish mezzo-soprano), Ingvild Storhaug (Norwegian mezzo-soprano) and Izumi Kawakatsu (Japanese pianist), with whom she visited Santiago de Chile (Chile), where they played at Cinearte Tobalaba on May 29; and Buenos Aires (Argentina), where they performed at Teatro Margarita Xirgu on June the 1st. During the tour they played songs from the Scandinavian, German and Austrian art, among which we may find Ture Rangström"s (Sweden), Sigurd von Koch"s (Sweden), Jean Sibelius" (Finland), Edvard Grieg"s (Norway), Leevi Madetoja"s (Finland) y Oskar Merikanto"s (Finland), Hugo Wolf "s (Austria), Gustav Mahler"s (Austria), Johannes Brahms" (Germany), Richard Strauss" (Germany), Manuel de Falla"s (Spain) and Felix Mendelssohn"s (Germany) compositions. The occasion was sponsored by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the Embassy of Finland, the Center of Culture and Information of the Embassy of Japan, the Embassy of Germany in Argentina, the Embassy of Sweden, the Government of Buenos Aires- Secretary of Culture, Open Opera, Fundamús and the House of the Opera.

First part

Sigurd von Koch (1879-1919)
"I manaden Tjaitra" by Ingvild Storhaug
"Af Lotusdoft och manenssken" by Ingvild Storhaug

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
3 songs from "Haugtussa" op.67:
"Älska" by Ingvild Storhaug
"Vonddag" by Ingvild Storhaug
"Med en vandlilje" by Ingvild Storhaug

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
"Demanten pa marssnön op.36 nr.6" by Marjut Paavilainen
"Im Feld ein Mädchen singt op. 50 nr.3" by Marjut Paavilainen

Ture Rangström
"Den enda stunden" by Tarja Turunen
"Vingar i natten" by Tarja Turunen

Jean Sibelius
"Säv, säv susa op. 36 nr.4" by Tarja Turunen
"Den första kyssen op.37 nr.1" by Tarja Turunen

Leevi Madetoja (1887-1947)
"Heijaa, heijaa op.60 nr.1" by Tarja Turunen
"Yrtit tummat op.9 nr.1" by Tarja Turunen

Oskar Merikanto (1868-1924)
"Soipa kieli" by Marjut Paavilainen and Tarja Turunen
"Oi kiitos sa luojani armollinen" by Marjut Paavilainen and Tarja Turunen

Second part

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
"Vergäbliches Ständchen op.94 nr.4" by Ingvild Storhaug
"Sappische Ode op.89 nr.4" by Ingvild Storhaug

Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)
"Siete canciones populares":
"El paño moruno" by Ingvild Storhaug
"Nana" by Ingvild Storhaug
"Canción" by Ingvild Storhaug

Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
"Das verlassene Mägdlein" by Marjut Paavilainen
"Zitronenfalter im April" by Marjut Paavilainen
"Frühling übers Jahr" by Marjut Paavilainen
"Anakreons Grab" by Marjut Paavilainen
"Verborgenheit" by Tarja Turunen
"Elfenlied" by Tarja Turunen

Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
"Du meines Herzens Krönelein op.21 nr.2" by Tarja Turunen
"Zueignung op.10 nr.1" by Tarja Turunen

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
"Die Meere op.20 nr.3" by Tarja Turunen and Ingvild Storhaug
"Die Schwestern op.61 nr.4" by Tarja Turunen and Ingvild Storhaug

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
"Herbstlied op.63 nr.4" by Marjut Paavilainen and Tarja Turunen
"Ich wollt, meine Lieb ergösse sich... op.63 nr.1" by Marjut Paavilainen and Tarja Turunen

It was a great success and we felt that the idea behind all this had been achieved. People really loved the songs and many requests for next time were received.

For the second edition of Noche Escandinava, during April and May 2004, a change in the line up was produced: Ingvild Storhaug was replaced by Juha Koskela (Finnish baritone) and the repertory, this time, was composed entirely by songs of Finnish composers like Oskar Merikanto, Yrjö Kilpinen, Jean Sibelius, Toivo Kuula, Erkki Melartin and of folk Finnish songs.

First part:

Oskar Merikanto (1868-1924):

Elämälle, Op. 93 N°4 (Ernst V. Knape) by Juha Koskela
- Omenankukat, Op. 53 N°1 (Eino Leino) by Marjut Paavilainen
- Miksi laulan, Op. 20 N°2 (J.H. Erkko) by Tarja Turunen
- Laulaja taivaan portilla, Op. 75 N°2 (Lauri Pohjanpää) by Juha Koskela
- Kevätlinnuille etelässä, Op. 11 N°1 (J.H.Erkko) by Juha Koskela
- Rukous, Op. 40 N°2 (Nino Runeberg) by Tarja Turunen
- Pai, pai paitaressu, Op. 2 N°1 (Mustakallio) by Marjut Paavilainen
- Metsäkyyhkyset, Op. 47 N°1 (J. Blicher-Clausen) by Marjut Paavilainen

Yrjö Kilpinen (1892-1959):

- Illalla, Op. 19 N°7 (Eino Leino) by Juha Koskela
- Laululle, Op. 52 N°3 (V.E. Törmänen) by Tarja Turunen
- Rannalta I, Op. 23 N°1 (V.A. Koskenniemi) by Tarja Turunen

Erkki Melartin (1875-1937):

- Minä metsän polkuja kuljen, Op. 4 N°1 (Eino Leino) by Juha Koskela
- Tähtien laulu, Op. 155 N°2 (Arvid Lydecken) by Tarja Turunen y Marjut Paavilainen

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957):

- Illalle, Op. 17 N°6 (A.V. Forsman/ Koskimies) by Juha Koskela
- Lastu lainehilla, Op. 17 N°7 (Ilmari Kianto) by Marjut Paavilainen
- Säf, säf susa, Op. 36 N°4 (G. Fröding) by Tarja Turunen
- Lailla virvaliekin (Autrefois) Op. 96 (Laura Heinonen) by Tarja Turunen y Marjut Paavilainen
- Svarta rosor, Op. 36 N°1 (Ernst Josephson) by Juha Koskela
- Var det en dröm, Op. 37 N°1 (J.J. Wecksell) by Tarja Turunen
- Tanken (Johan Ludvig Runeberg) by Marjut Paavilainen and Juha Koskela

Second part:

Finnish Folk Songs: (arranged by Ralf Gothoni, 1987):

- Soittajapaimen by Marjut Paavilainen
- Hilu hilu by Marjut Paavilainen
- Läksin minä kesäyönä by Marjut Paavilainen
- Minun kultani kaunis on by Marjut Paavilainen

Toivo Kuula (1883-1918):

- Tuijotin tulehen kauan, Op. 2 N°2 (Eino Leino) by Tarja Turunen
- Kesäyö kirkkomaalla, Op. 6 N°1 (V.A. Koskenniemi) by Tarja Turunen
- Imandran laulu, Op. 30c/4 (Larin Kyösti) by Tarja Turunen
- Aamulaulu, Op. 2 N°3 (Eino Leino) by Marjut Paavilainen
- Sinipiika, Op. 23 N°1 (V.A. Koskenniemi) by Juha Koskela
- Syystunnelma, Op. 2 N°1 (Eino Leino) by Juha Koskela

Oskar Merikanto:

- Myrskylintu , Op. 30 N°4 (Kashmir Leino) by Juha Koskela
- Soi vienosti murheeni soitto, Op. 36 N°3 (Heikki Ansa) by Marjut Paavilainen
- Soipa kieli by Tarja Turunen and Juha Koskela
- Kun päivä paistaa, Op. 24 N°1 (Hilja) by Tarja Turunen
- Merellä, Op. 47 N°4 (J.H. Erkko) by Juha Koskela
- Oi, kiitos sa Luojanen armollinen by Tarja Turunen, Marjut Paavilainen and Juha Koskela

In this case, the tour included Santiago de Chile (Chile), where they played at Centro Comercial Omnion on April 22nd; Buenos Aires (Argentina) with a show at Teatro Margarita Xirgu on April 24th; Brazil, with two shows, one in Porto Alegre, at Teatro de AMRG, on April 28th, and the other at Teatro das Artes/Eventos on May 1st; and, finally, at the Auditorium Hall, National Museum of Art, Bucharest (Romania). The Embassy of Finland, the Ministry of Culture of Finland and the Center of Culture and Information of the Embassy of Japan sponsored this tour.

We were not able to change the name of the tour anymore, because so many people knew us already from Noche Escandinava. As you know, Finland is not a part of Scandinavia, but despite of that, we wanted to keep our touring name as it was before. I am sure that there will be a third tour in the future for Noche Escandinava. I need to be patient because of Nightwish"s rough schedule but, for example, a concert in Bucharest, Romania is already confirmed. I just need to decide when....