LEEVI RÄSÄNEN
c o m p o s e r
As a consumer of music, Leevi Räsänen (b. 1997, Enonkoski) is equally at home in the pounding of sticky-floored nightclubs, listening to contemporary music whispers in concert halls as well as enjoying Broadway musicals and opera. Diverse influences and starting points dominate his compositions. He creates works tailored to their unique contexts using ever-changing methods. Räsänen's works reflect his values, personal experiences, and incorporate phenomena and quotations from popular culture. He often builds them around internal experiences of the mind, such as memories, relationships, emotions, and experiences of time and place.
Räsänen is best known for his interest in microtonality within contemporary settings, but also for his work in multidisciplinary groups, and for bringing non-musical phenomena into concert halls. He is interested in blending various equal divisions of the octave and natural tuning, as well as combining acoustic sound with electronics, objects, and other parameters such as light and motion.
Having also studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Räsänen graduated with a master’s in composition from Sibelius Academy in 2023. His recent collaborators include, for example, the brass quintet of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, who commissioned his work for lighting and brass quintet "Light Flowers," which received its premiere at the Concert hall of the Helsinki Music Centre in February 2024. In a short time, Räsänen has gained recognition for his works in countries such as South Korea, Spain, Mexico, and the United States, and he represented Finland at the Ung Nordisk Musik Festivals in Sweden 2019, Denmark 2021, and Norway 2023. Räsänen will be the guest composer for the 2024 Brinkhall soi festival in Turku, where his new work for the Æstus Ensemble and orchestra Refugium Musicum, led by conductor József Hárs will premiere, with the four members of Æstus serving as soloists. Currently, Leevi is supported by the Arts Promotion Center Finland and the Kone Foundation in his work on new compositions. Räsänen's work has also received support from organizations such as the Paulo Foundation, Greta and William Lehtinen Foundation, and BNP Paribas.
RECENT PREMIERE:
LIGHT FLOWERS (2023)
for brass quintet and light
commissioned by the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle
Premiered by the brass quintet of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra on February 9th, 2024 in the concert hall of the Helsinki Music Centre.
Miikka Saarinen, trumpet
Lénard Heugen, trumpet
Jukka Harju, french horn
Line Johannesen, trombone
Joel Wendelin, tuba
Tuukka Aimasmäki, lighting designer
LEEVI'S MUSIC ON SOUNDCLOUD
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
- ke 04. jouluk.Hietsun Paviljonki04. jouluk. 2024 klo 19.00 – 21.00Hietsun Paviljonki, Hiekkarannantie 9, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
- su 24. marrask.Nokian Taidehalli24. marrask. 2024 klo 14.00 – 16.00Nokian Taidehalli, Välikatu 24, 37100 Nokia, Finland
- to 21. marrask.Manilla Kulttuuritehdas21. marrask. 2024 klo 19.00 – 21.00Manilla Kulttuuritehdas, Itäinen Rantakatu 64b, 20810 Turku, Finland
- la 02. marrask.New Auditorium, Royal Concert Hall02. marrask. 2024 klo 13.00 – 15.00 UTCNew Auditorium, Royal Concert Hall, 2 Killermont St, Glasgow G2 3NW, UK02. marrask. 2024 klo 13.00 – 15.00 UTCNew Auditorium, Royal Concert Hall, 2 Killermont St, Glasgow G2 3NW, UKLeevi Räsänen debuts at the Nordic Music Days with their composition for string quartet "the two childhoods" – performed by one of Europe's leading string quartets, the Chaos String Quartet.
- pe 11. lokak.Temppeliaukio Church11. lokak. 2024 klo 19.00 – 20.30Temppeliaukio Church, Lutherinkatu 3, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Leevi's work has been supported by:
KONEEN SÄÄTIÖ
Kone Foundation
TAIKE
Taiteen edistämiskeskus
TAIKE
Taiteen edistämiskeskus
Etelä-Savon taidetoimikunta
PAULON SÄÄTIÖ
Paulo Foundation
MARTIN WEGELIUKSEN MUISTO -SÄÄTIÖ SR
MADETOJA-SÄÄTIÖ
Madetoja Foundation
BNP PARIBAS BANK
GRETA JA WILLIAM LEHTISEN SÄÄTIÖ
Greta and William Lehtinen foundation
SIBELIUS-RAHASTO
The Sibelius Fund of the Society of Finnish Composers
MES
Musiikin edistämissäätiö
TEOSTO
Tuki sävellystilauksille