The Band
RALPH TUTTILA |
MANDOLIN, TWO ROW ACCORDION, HARMONICA, JOUHIKKO, VOCALSRalph was exposed to Finnish music at a young age at home and in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan Finnish community where he grew up, and he learned his music and instruments almost exclusively in the folk tradition. He was a member of the Finnish kantele ensemble Koivun Kaiku, and a founding member of Finn Hall Band. Koivun Kaiku and Finn Hall both traveled extensively as Finlandia Foundation Performers of the Year, and Finn Hall also performed in Finland at the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival. Ralph has made several recordings with both groups and is also a guest artist on other Finnish folk music recordings. He is a dancer and musician with the Kisarit Finnish American folk dancers, and he teaches many types of dance, including Finnish and other couple social dances, as well as tango.
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JAANA TUTTILA |
BASS, NYCKELHARPA, HARMONIUM, DANCE INSTRUCTIONJaana Tuttila comes to Minnesota from the Pacific Northwest. She was first introduced to Scandinavian music through Swedish and Norwegian community bands and events in Poulsbo, Washington, and then was later introduced to Finnish music at a Finn Hall concert in her home town. She was taken by the old Finn Hall style of music and dance, and began learning traditional nordic dances with the local Scandinavian dance group. Jaana eventually moved to Minnesota and now plays bass and nyckelharpa with Lauluaika, Finn Hall, and the Twin Cities Nyckelharpalag. She dances with the Kisarit Finnish American Folk Dancers and teaches Finnish folk dances and mixers at Lauluaika events.
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LOTTA KIURU-RIBAR |
VIOLIN, JOUHIKKO, HARMONIUM, VOCALSViolinist 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 Lauluaika, she is a member of the Finn Hall Band, and also sang regularly with the Twin Cities Mila Vocal Ensemble.
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DANIEL KIURU-RIBAR |
GUITAR, SOUND TECHNICIANDaniel is a Minnesota native and a founding member of Lauluaika. He has played in several bands over the past 25 years, including Finn Hall Band, as well as praise bands and ensembles for local musical performances. Dan was drawn to Lauluaika by his love of the energy that drives Finnish folk music, and he has enjoyed exploring his Finnish musical roots.
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ERIC PLATT
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MANDOLIN, OCTAVE MANDOLIN, GUITAREric, a native of Minnesota, is also a founding member of Lauluaika. He is well known in the Twin Cities Nordic, French-Canadian, and old-time music communities and continues to play guitar and mandolin with many professional musicians and groups in Minnesota. He has been in a number of bands over the years and in 2018 won the Minnesota State Fiddlers Association Heritage Division at the State Fair.
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TAMARA BAKER
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PERCUSSION, PIMPPARAUTA, VOCALSTamara comes to Lauluaika with an interest in a variety of music and a love of singing. Since joining Lauluaika, she has explored the nuances of different types of percussive instruments to add to Finnish folk music, including the use of the pimpparauta, or 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 a Finnish folk musician.
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JOHANNA SOLEM
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VIOLIN, VOCALSViolinist Johanna Solem has been captivated by Finnish and Finnish-American music her whole life. She grew up listening to the Finnish music of her family’s band, The Third Generation, and started studying violin when she was about two feet tall. Johanna 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. Also a member of Finn Hall Band and the Kisarit Finnish American Folk Dancers, she is honored to be part of Minnesota’s rich folk music tradition—both preserving history and carrying it forward in new combinations.
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