The Story of Ameriikan Poijat

The brass septet "Ameriikan Poijat" (Boys of America) has been appearing at ethnic festivals, regional tours, and music conferences, presenting authentic social dance music and concert repertoire. During the 1980's, Paul Niemistö, the group's founder, made contact with many Finnish brass players and discovering this relatively unknown musical tradition. In 1990 the group was formed, made up primarily of Midwestern musicians of Finnish descent. Ameriikan Poijat has evolved around the beautiful charm of the old music and dance arrangements, and has enjoyed popularity among Finnish American festival-goers. Although the septet had a limited existence among Finnish communities in the U.S., the music played by Ameriikan Poijat is quite familiar, being many of the same pieces heard played by accordion or salon orchestra. These brass players find the septet repertoire to be both meaningful ethnic art, as well as having a musicality attractive to all listeners. Members of Ameriikan Poijat are Finnish American musicians and teachers in the north central states of Minnesota and Michigan - a region were many Nordic settlers arrived.

The repertoire of Ameriikan Poijat

The repertoire of Ameriikan Poijat is derived directly from original hand manuscript sources to be found among Finnish bands and archives. Waltzes, schottisches, polkas, mazurkas, polonaises, and other social dances are well represented in the old books. Distinctly Finnish dances included are the jenkka, humppa, and the Finnish version of "tango." As a part of the amateur brass band movement in Finland, such prominent composers as Sibelius and Madetoja contributed concert repertoire, and numerous transcriptions were made of standard orchestral music. Many of the concert pieces for brass septet were commissioned to be performed at large national music festivals. During the past decade, when the Finnish septet has been enjoying a revival, modern Finnish composers and arrangers have contributed many new works to the septet.

Although Finnish brass septet music bears the shadows of Russian, Swedish, and German influences, its Finnish sound is unmistakable. Through contact with septet players in Finland, we realize that our playing style may differ a bit from native performers, but their enthusiasm for our renditions has been gratifying. We play with a "foreign accent." The more we interact with our Finnish musical colleagues, the more authentic we sound! The septet repertoire is colorful, well crafted, full of history, and a very satisfying medium for learning about an ethnic and musical heritage.

The “Early Years” of Ameriikan Poijat

In 1992, during Finland's 75th Anniversary celebration, Ameriikan Poijat toured Finland, appearing at the Kaustinen Folk Festival, Lieksa International Brass Week, The "Roots in Finland" Family Fair in Turku, the Valkeakoski Music Festival and the Finland Society Grand Festival in Helsinki. During the Grand Festival, Ameriikan Poijat played an entry march for Finnish President Mauno Koivisto before an audience of five thousand, plus an international television broadcast audience.

In 1993 Ameriikan Poijat traveledthrough Northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. In 1994 they toured through southern Wisconsin and appeared at the 1994 Finnfest Midwest in the Chicago area.

The founding members of Ameriikan Poijat included American born descendants of Finnish immigrants, musicians, and teachers from Minnesota and Michigan: Paul Niemisto (Professor of Music at St. Olaf College, Northfield. Minnesota) was the group's founder and euphonium player, Russell Pesola (Professor of Music, Concordia College, Moorhead. Minnesota), E-flat cornetist, Don Hakala (Bloomington Symphony, Minnesota), cornet, Karl Hill Kortesmki (Grand Rapids, Michigan, horn player and instrument builder), alto horn, Brian Borovsky (Sheldon Theater Brass Band), alto horn, Denise Pesola (Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, Minnesota), cornet, Eric Kiltinen (now residing in Washington D.C.), tenor horn, and Eric Peterson (Bloomington Symphony, Minnesota), Tuba.

In summer 1995, Ameriikan Poijat returned to Finland for a three week tour. The itinerary includedappearances at the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, the Lieksa International Brass Week, the Bomba Festival, and concerts in the Finnish cities of Jyvskyla, Kuopio and Kokkola . ARTS INTERNATIONAL, a division of the Institute of International Education, awarded a travel grant to assist with participation in the Finnish festivals during summer 1995. Arts International is funded in part by the U.S. Information Agency, the National Endowment for the Arts, and by the Rockefeller Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts. It is a public-private partnership established to help ensure the excellence, diversity, and vitality of the arts in the U.S. are represented at international festivals. In addition, THE FINLANDIA FOUNDATION, an endowment to promoting Finnish American culture,awarded Ameriikan Poijat a grant to assist with publicity and program expenses connected with the 1995tour.

In 2000 AMERIIKAN POIJAT celebrated its 10thAnniversary season with a musical tour to Finland that including appearances as far west as the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, and as far east at the Lieksa International Brass week, held near the Russian border. Other appearances were at the Johann Willgren Festival in Orivesi, and the Hamina Military Music Tattoo.

In recent years Ameriikan Poijat have traveled widely in the U.S. and Canada, and have appeared at several events, such as Finnfest USA several times. In 1997, has received an invitation to perform at the GREAT AMERICAN BRASS BAND FESTIVAL in Danville, Kentucky. This festival is the largest gathering of brass band performers and enthusiasts in the country, with over 60,000 in attendance. Ameriikan Poijat’s visit to the GABBF was the first by a Finnish style brass septet.

In February 2005, Ameriikan poijat was invited to perform the entire brass septet repertoire of Jean Sibelius at the International Sibelius Conference, held at the University of North Texas in Denton.

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