cultural activities
19
finnish cultural foundation
annual report 2013–2014
By the next time, in 2019, she has
visions of the Mirjam Helin Competition
being even more firmly lodged in inter-
national awareness than it is at present.
Building an international brand nowa-
days relies to a great extent on the internet,
but also on personal PR. The MirjamHelin
Competition already stands as an example
on the world music competition scene, as
was evident at the meeting of the World
Federation of International Music Compe-
titions held in Geneva in October.
“Our use of social media was consid-
ered exemplary, and many said they had
borrowed ideas from us. This shows that
we are capable of regeneration and that
we represent the front line of international
music competitions.”
One innovation that was eagerly taken
up elsewhere was the Shadow Jury; like
the Singers’ Studio, this was new this year.
The idea of an independent jury of young
professionals was first launched in Finland
at the Paulo Cello Competition in 2013.
“We wanted this Shadow Jury to open
up new perspectives on singers’ perfor-
mances, and to demonstrate that there is
no single truth in a competition like this.”
Croatia lights up
The Semifinals and Final were now held
for the first time at the Helsinki Music
Centre. Being a venue familiar to people
outside Finland, it made the competition
even more prestigious and the sing-
ers were able to give their Semifinals
recitals at a first-rate hall. For the Final
they were accompanied by the Finnish
Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted
by
Hannu Lintu
. The finalists also ap-
peared in a concert with the Tampere
Philharmonic. The competition thus
grew steadily from round to round.
The number of singers from Ukraine
(four) and Croatia (three) was quite a topic
of conversation, especially as four of these
singers went home with prizes.
“This is not the first time our competi-
tion has made the international commu-
nity aware of singers fromEastern Europe,
Russia and Asia,” Marja-Leena Pétas points
out.
As it did this time. One reason may be
that financially, participation has been
made as easy as possible.
“Applicants don’t need to attend pre-
selection auditions, and there is no entry
fee. Our competitors can, if they wish, get
free accommodation here in Helsinki, a
travel grant, and a daily allowance for
the days on which they are competing. So
even for someone from a humble back-
ground, the competition may be a super-
sonic springboard to international fame.”
There were singers from every corner
of the globe at the pre-selection stage, but
the winners all came from east of Helsinki.
“Not all talented singers nowadays
want to become professional artists, or
to learn the varied repertoire required
for the MirjamHelin Competition. Singers
from the East clearly have the passion to
do this. They are prepared to work really
hard for a career in singing,” says Marja-
Leena Pétas. “Like Mirjam, I’ll be keeping
a close eye on the future development and
careers of our competitors.”
The Shadow Jury ran a blog throughout the competition and took part in Yle broadcasts. It consisted of Joonas Asikainen (baritone),
Ann-Marie Heino (mezzo-soprano), Jenni Lättilä (Chair, soprano), Petri Bäckström (tenor) and Juho Alakärppä (Lied pianist).
