Vuolas band, photograph: Mikko Malmivaara
"... a professional in every way; through expression, through technique, as an arranger, as a composer.
[The] performance had energy, power and courage. Strong rhythmics and balanced soundscapes!”
- judges, the 3rd International Kantele Competition,
2015
MUSIC
Lomy has practiced music her entire life. In Sibelius Academy her main subjects have been different-sized kanteles (the national instrument of Finland), pop-jazz singing and composition, however, being interested in a multitude of different subjects, she has also studied pedagogy, jazz arrangement, classical music, rhythmics, and folk singing - among many others.
Lomy has performed both as a solo artist and with various musical groups such as Vuolas, Maisemamatkoilla Collective, Fugaiu Novo, Sibelius Academy Choir and Folk Big Band. In 2019, Folk Big Band released its second album Katrilli Toisesta Elämästä (Quadrille from Another Life) on which Lomy plays the kantele.
In 2015 Lomy won the 1st price in
the 3rd International Kantele competition and has previously received multiple smaller scholarships for musical talent from various music schools.
Lomy has also worked with film and theatre music. In 2020, Vuolas band created the music for Among Wild Birds (Villilintujen parissa) silent film and from 2018 to 2019 Lomy collaborated with film composer Emil Sana as a singer and kantele player. As for theatre, Lomy's voice and kanteles have been heard in a multitude of plays, for instance in Stadi 1918 (Botta, Helsinki, 2018) and Keinulauta (Suomenlinna summer theatre, Helsinki, 2016). Lomy has also composed pieces for a children's musical Apua, Olen Sadussa! (2011).
Lomy has made history in the kantele world through her collaborations with various music technicians. In 2018, Lomy performed with a unique electronic kantele built by Jarkko Lamminsalo. Equipped with censors responding to the gestures of
Lomy's hands, the kantele's soundscape
Photography: Saara Vuola
could be altered via a delicate movement of the body. In 2019 Lomy worked with Flavio Cangialosi to create the first ever electronic kantele sample pack to consist of different sizes of kanteles for composers around the world to download online.
COMPOSITION
"Composition has been one of the most essential means for my creative flow since I was six years old. My teachers noticed my tendency for composing from the very beginning and always encouraged me to dream bigger - as a result, before the age of 13 I had composed and arranged for a kantele-quintet, a choir and a children's musical and recorded two albums worth of compositions.
Nowadays I mainly compose for the kantele, for its soft, delicate sound is the closest to my aesthetic preferences. I most often find my inspiration from the nature; windy meadows, softly swaying willows, sinuously streaming rivers and the raging waves of the sea never fail to leave me at awe, which translates rather directly as vivid impressions into my compositions.
Minimalistic patterns and impressions are ever-present thematics in my music. I am a visual composer - I see pictures in my mind as I compose. Consequently, my music has often been described as 'cinematic' and 'Philip Glass -like', which never fails to amuse me. Considering how much classical music, film music, jazz and folky indie pop I consume, it's no wonder also these genres make an appearance in my pieces every once in a while.
I have lately become interested in archaic folk music, the oldest Finnish folk music known and still alive, the influences of which are growing stronger in my music. I also play this kind of music both solo and with Vuolas."
- E. Lomy
Photography: Saara Vuola
Some examples of past projects:
- Kelloista - Of the Bells (solo), Hakasalmi Villa, Helsinki 2020
- Among Wild Birds silent film concert, Docpoint Helsinki Documentary Film Festival, 2020
- Fugaiu Novo at Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, 2019
- The Reach (dir. Grace Phillips), Korpo & Taalintehdas, 2019
- Electronics & Acoustics (solo, comp. Emil Sana) Music Centre, Helsinki, 2018
- Sibelius Academy Choir Goes Jazz (cond. and arr. Jesper Holm), Helsinki, 2018
- Quadrille from Another Life album by Folk Big Band, 2018
- Taiga-klubi, Folk Big Band & Global Orchestra, Tavastia, Helsinki 2017
- Emma Myllynen [Lomy] solo, Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, Kaustinen, 2016, 2017 & 2018
