photo: Paul Brück

Arja Kastinen
Arja Kastinen (b. 1963, Tuupovaara, Finland) was the first Finnish folk musician to take the Doctor of Music examination in the artistic study programme at the Sibelius Academy in December 2000. Her main interest lies in the music based on the ideology and the acoustical phenomena of the kantele in the 19th century Karelian kantele improvisation.

In 2009, Arja published a book on kantele manuscripts from the 19th century:
Taivas auki - Itäisen Suomen ja Karjalan kanteleista 1800-luvun käsikirjoituksissa.

More information: www.temps.fi).

Arja's workshop:
Karelian kantele improvisation (19th century). Newmade copies from the museum instruments.