Timo Alakotila

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Timo Alakotila
BornJuly 15, 1959
NationalityFinland
OccupationComposer, Arranger, and Musician


Timo Alakotila is a Finnish composer, arranger, and musician born July 15, 1959.

Career[]

Timo Alakotila's range of music styles stretches from Finnish folk music of the pelimanni style over some jazz influences to more or less Finnish style , and with some extensions to classical music. He is one of the founding members of the well-known Finnish folk fiddler group JPP of the Kaustinen tradition, where he plays harmonium, and in the similar group . In both groups, he is one of the main arrangers and composers. Alakotila has worked with accordionist Maria Kalaniemi for more than ten years in several formats, including a duo, a trio and the group . Kalaniemi and Alakotila play both their own and each other's arrangements and compositions, as well as some traditional material.

Another of Alakotila's projects is (Tango-orkesteri Unto), a tango orchestra that was formed to perform at Expo '98 in Lisbon, Portugal. This groups mainly plays Alakotila's rather chamber-music-like arrangements of Finnish tango. In 2004 BBC Concert Orchestra, JPP and Maria Kalaniemi performed music written by Alakotila for the occasion. Among his more "classic style" works is a folk-music/chamber hybrid, a concerto for accordion and orchestra, originally performed at the folk music festival Haapavesi Folk with as the soloist.[1] Alakotila's piece, Pelimanni's Revenge, was arranged by violist, Ralph Farris, for the string quartet ETHEL and was released on their 2006 album Light (Cantaloupe Music).[2]

Alakotila also works as a teacher at the Sibelius Academy and at the .

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