Singer-actress Maria Ylipää (b. 1981) counts among Finland’s most charismatic artists. This year, Ylipää will feature as a soloist for UMO’s Christmas tour.

The versatile tour programme has been put together guided by the soloist’s wishes: the audience can expect emotion and message, soul and stories, humanity and intimate moments. From gospel pieces to fresh Finnish Christmas songs and new arrangements of traditional holiday-time favourites made specifically for this occasion, the programme includes such beloved numbers as Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah; Christmassy soul hits O Holy Night and Go Tell It on the Mountain; and conductor Mikko Hassinen’s new arrangement of hymn Silent Night. Worth mentioning is also a newish piece, Aasi ja timpurin muija (The Ass and the Carpenter’s Wife), by Finnish musician-composer Jukka Leppilampi. While various genres are represented, the stories and the message of the music are at the heart of this concert.

The church is a familiar venue for Ylipää who grew up in a Christian family: her father is a cantor and her mother has an academic degree in music.
– I have literally grown up in the church. As a child I loved to play in the church and the graveyard, and through my father’s job I learned about the great turning points of life – birth, death and wedding – early. Big holidays were always spent in the church playing and singing. The church was also the place where I could retreat to enjoy the finest music ever written, Bach, she says.

Ylipää stars in the TV shows Aallonmurtaja and Game Night, both of which are currently running on the Finnish TV. She is also known for the title role in the musical Kristina från Duvemåla, and from the Finnish film Keisarikunta and the TV series Luottomies and Tappajan näköinen mies. In 2010 she released a collaboration album, Omani uni, with another acclaimed Finnish singer, Emma Salokoski. Ylipää’s solo debut Onerva came out in 2013.

The concert is conducted by Mikko Hassinen. Duration: 75 min.

Promotion photo by Tero Ahonen.