Tapiola Youth Symphony Orchestra

Tapiola Youth Symphony Orchestra (TYSO) is made up of around 70 talented young music students from Espoo Music Institute, EMO. The orchestra has received praise both in Finland and abroad during concert tours. Tours have taken the orchestra to many European countries including Spain, Slovenia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary, Italy, Ireland and Austria. 2014 they made a tour to China. The orchestra has made recordings for CDs, TV, radio and film.

The Espoo Music Institute first founded its own symphony orchestra in 1985 under the baton of Pekka Savijoki. Markus Lehtinen took over in 1993 and Jani Telaranta in 2005, since 2011 orchestra has been conducted by Jan Söderblom and since 2015 by Erkki Lasonpalo. The orchestra works on a project basis and prepares 3-4 programmes per year. The members of the orchestra take part in planning process. The enthusiastic and youthful orchestra is inspired by the shared goal - exploring music and it’s emotions together.

The foundation for the acclaimed ensemble and its distinctive sound is the step-by-step orchestra-training programme of the Espoo Music Institute, in which young musicians move up from one orchestra to the next as they become more advanced. By the time they reach the symphony orchestra, they are not only masters of their own instruments but are experienced ensemble musicians as well. A mutual job well done, even if it entails a lot of hard work, is a tremendous experience and generates a great sense of belonging together.

The orchestra’s home is the Tapiola Hall, located at the Espoo Cultural Centre. Throughout its history, the orchestra has works with Finland’s leading musicians, with soloists including Jorma Hynninen, Réka Szilvay, Matti Raekallio, Pietari Inkinen, Sakari Oramo, Hagai Shaham, Roi Ruottinen, Paavali Jumppanen etc. The orchestra has collaborated with Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jyväskylä Sinfonietta, appeared on Finnish TV broadcasts, recorded music for commercials, radio broadcasts, and the feature films Bad Luck Love, Aleksis Kivi, Abandoned Houses, Empty Yards and Storm.