THE BAND

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RALPH TUTTILA

MANDOLIN, TWO ROW ACCORDION, HARMONICA, JOUHIKKO, SOLOIST

Ralph, who plays mandolin, kantele and sings in Finnish, was exposed very early to Finnish music at home and in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan Finnish community where he grew up. He was a member of the Finnish Kantele ensemble "Koivun Kaiku" playing a variety of traditional Finnish instruments, a founding member of “Finn Hall Band”, traveled to Finland to perform at the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival while with “Koivun Kaiku” and later with “Finn Hall”, awarded the Performers of the Year when with “Koivun Kaiku” then later when with “Finn Hall” by the Finlandia Foundation National, and has made several recordings with both groups and has been guest artist on other Finnish folk music recordings.
Ralph has learned his music and instruments almost exclusively in the folk tradition. He is also a dancer and musician with the Kisarit Finnish folkdancers and teaches various types of dance - Finnish and other couple social dances including tango.

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LOTTA KIURU-RIBAR

 VIOLIN, JOUHIKKO, HARMONIUM, SOLOIST

Violinist and vocalist Lotta Kiuru-Ribar hails from Finland where she was born, grew up and went to school.   While in school she took violin lessons  and played in various classical groups.  She also learned many folk tunes as part of her regular music education.     During college she focused on her vocal training, but picked-up the violin again once her children began playing in their own school orchestra.  In addition to being a founding member of ‘Laulu Aika’, she is also a member of the Finn Hall Band, and also sang regularly with the Mila Vocal Ensemble of the Twin Cities.

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DANIEL KIURU-RIBAR

GUITAR, BASS, SOUND TECHNICIAN

Daniel, a founding member of ‘Laulu Aika’, is a native of Minnesota comes to ‘Laulu Aika’ through his love of the energy that drives Finnish folk music. He has played in several bands over the past 25 years, including Finn Hall as well as praise bands and ensembles for local musical performances. He has in the past few years explored his musical roots from Finland and he comes to Laulu Aika through a cultural program that brought this group together.

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ERIC PLATT

MANDOLIN, OCTAVE MANDOLIN, GUITAR

​Eric, a native of Minnesota, is also a founding member of ‘Laulu Aika’.    He is well known in the Twin Cities Scandinavian and old-time music communities and continues to play guitar and mandolin with many professional musicians and groups in Minnesota.    He’s been in a number of bands over the years and in 2018 won the Minnesota State Fiddler’s Association Heritage Division at the State Fair, playing Al Capone’s Waltz on mandolin.    

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TAMARA BAKER

PERCUSSION, PIMPPARAUTA, SOLOIST

​Tamara comes to Laulu Aika with an interest in a variety of music and a love of singing.  Since joining Laulu Aika she has explored the nuances of different types of percussive instruments to add to Finnish folk music including the use of the Pimpparauta, musical triangle.  She has learned to play the Kantele through instruction by Diane Jarvi, musician, recording artist and poet. By participating in Lauluaika, she's exploring her Scandinavian and Finnish heritage through song and finding her place as Finnish folk musician.

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JOHANNA LORBACH

VIOLIN, HARMONIUM, VOCALS

Violinist Johanna Lorbach has been captivated by Finnish and Finnish-American music her whole life. She grew up listening to Finnish music of her family’s band, The Third Generation, and started studying violin when she was about two feet tall. In college, she studied Finnish at the University of Minnesota and fell in love with the rolling r's, words like yöpyä and lämpimämpi, and yes, even grammatical gems like the potential and the partitive plural.  Johanna traveled with the Finn Hall Band on tour in Finland in July, 2006 which included some of her most musically inspiring experiences and reminded her that there is a culture that truly appreciates summer.  

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JAANA TUTTILA

BASS, NYCKELHARPA, HARMONIUM

Jaana Tuttila comes to Minnesota, from the Pacific Northwest.  She was first introduced to Scandinavian music through different Swedish and Norwegian community bands and events in Poulsbo, Washington, then later introduced to Finn Hall at the local Sons of Norway Hall in her home town.  She was taken by the old Finn Hall style of music and dance, and began learning traditional Scandinavian dance with the local Scandinavian dance group.  Eventually she moved to Minnesota and now plays the Bass and Nyckelharpa with ‘Laulu Aika’ and Finn Hall, and the Nyckelharpa with the Twin Cities Nyckelharpalag.  She also plays Harmonium and the Ukulele, and dances with the Kisarit Finnish Folk Dancers.

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Lauluaika at Heikinpäivä 2018
Ralph Tuttila, Lotta Kiuru-Ribar, Eric Platt, Luca Ciletti, Karen Ba, Daniel Kiuru-Ribar, Jaana Tuttila

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Other Lauluaika Members

KAREN BA

​CLARINET, SOLOIST

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LUCA CILETTI

VIOLIN, BUTTON ACCORDION, BANJO-UKE

​Luca Ciletti, 19, is an active member of Lauluaika since February of 2017. He has been playing the violin since childhood and has added squeezebox accordions, and the "Banjo-Uke" to his favored instruments. While he currently is attending University at UW Eau Claire, his passion for Finnish music and music in general continues, and his Lauluaika bandmates always have a place on stage for this dear friend.