Yhteen ääneen

Ludwig van Beethoven
Elegischer Gesang, op. 118

Einojuhani Rautavaara
Die erste Elegie Adagio Celeste

Ludwig van Beethoven
Mass in C Major, op. 86

Nils Schweckendiek, conductor

Nils Schweckendiek studied musicology as well as orchestral and choral conducting in Cambridge, Freiburg and Helsinki. He made a successful debut at the Finnish National Opera in 2006 conducting Richard Strauss’s opera Der Rosenkavalier, after which he has appeared across Europe, the United States and China. He has conducted at numerous opera houses and festivals, including Leipzig Opera and the Savonlinna Opera Festival.

A strong advocate for contemporary music, Nils Schweckendiek has conducted more than 100 world premieres, including works for music theatre, orchestra, choir and instrumental ensembles. He has recorded for BIS, Toccata Classics, ICSM and Alba Records, receiving wide international recognition including a GRAMMY Award (Best Choral Performance), the Emma Award (Classical Album of the Year) and the ICMA Award (Best Contemporary Music Recording) in 2024 (Kaija Saariaho: Reconnaissance), three German Record Critics’ Awards (Saariaho: Reconnaissance, Pärt: Passio, Beat Furrer: Works for Choir and Ensemble), Yle’s Record of the Year Award (Matthew Whittall: Northlands), three Choral Album of the Year awards (Perttu Haapanen: Reports, Alex Freeman: Under the Arching Heavens, Saariaho: Reconnaissance), and two additional Emma nominations.

Since 2007, Nils Schweckendiek has served as Artistic Director of the Helsinki Chamber Choir. Since 2014 he has been Professor of Choral Conducting at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, and in 2017 he became Artistic Director of the Musiikkitalo Choir.

He has appeared as guest conductor with ensembles including the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Crash Ensemble, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oulu Sinfonia, RIAS Kammerchor, the Irish Chamber Choir, the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, the Latvian Radio Choir, the Swedish Radio Choir, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Croatian Radiotelevision Choir, Coro Casa da Música in Porto, Orquestra Barroca Casa da Música, and the NDR Choir in Hamburg. In 2020 he received the Fredrik Pacius Prize from the Swedish Literature Society in Finland for his creative and visible work in the Finnish music scene, and in 2025 he was awarded the Madetoja Prize by the Society of Finnish Composers. In 2022 he was named Conductor of the Year by the Finnish Choral Directors’ Association.

Helsinki Chamber Choir

The Helsinki Chamber Choir is a GRAMMY-winning professional chamber choir consisting of professional singers. The choir was founded in 1962 as the Finnish Radio Chamber Choir and adopted its current name in 2005.

The Helsinki Chamber Choir collaborates widely with both Finnish and international partners. Regular collaborators include the Helsinki Festival, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Musica nova Helsinki, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra. In recent years the choir has appeared at numerous international festivals and concert halls, including Acht Brücken (Cologne), Musiq3 (Brussels), Musik Meran (Italy), Muziekgebouw (Amsterdam) and Amare (The Hague). Other partners have included Ars Nova Copenhagen, Det Norske Solistkor, Ensemble Recherche, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, NeoQuartet, Uusinta Ensemble, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, as well as several Finnish orchestras and festivals. In addition to Finland, the choir has performed in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Scandinavia and Russia. Collaboration with the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle) has continued regularly through both radio and television broadcasts.

The Helsinki Chamber Choir has a wide repertoire ranging from medieval music to world premieres and from a cappella works to symphonic repertoire and music theatre. In 2024 the choir premiered five works for chamber choir and jazz orchestra together with the Sointi Jazz Orchestra. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the choir commissioned and premiered four new works for choir and baroque orchestra in collaboration with the Finnish Baroque Orchestra in 2025. The Helsinki Chamber Choir performs in formations ranging from one to more than forty singers and is particularly known for its performances of contemporary music. Since 2005 the choir has premiered nearly 100 works, including large-scale music theatre pieces, and has given over 40 Finnish premieres.

The choir records regularly and has received numerous recording awards, including a GRAMMY Award, the Emma Award, the ICMA (International Classical Music Award), the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (three times), Choral Album of the Year (three times), Gramophone Editor’s Choice (twice), and Yle’s Record of the Year Award. Award-winning recordings include the album Reconnaissance featuring music by Kaija Saariaho, Arvo Pärt’s Passio, and Beat Furrer: Works for Choir and Ensemble. Recordings of music by Alex Freeman, Perttu Haapanen and Matthew Whittall have also received awards.

Since 2007 the choir’s artistic activities have been led by Professor Nils Schweckendiek. The choir has collaborated with numerous choral conductors and orchestral conductors. Artistic directors of the Finnish Radio Chamber Choir included Harald Andersén, Kaj-Erik Gustafsson, Ilmo Riihimäki, Eric-Olof Söderström and Timo Nuoranne. The first artistic director of the Helsinki Chamber Choir (2005–2007) was Kimmo Hakola.

The Helsinki Chamber Choir is a member of Tenso, the European network for professional chamber choirs.