Oulunsalo Soi Chamber Music Festival takes place 5–9 August and includes eight concerts and an art exhibition.
“This year, Oulu is rightfully at the heart of European cultural life.” This summer’s Oulunsalo Soi festival program systematically explores all the countries that make up our continent. “As our guides, I’ve invited a stellar group of leading artists from Finland and abroad,” says the festival’s Artistic Director, violist Atte Kilpeläinen.
This year’s visual artist is Oulu-based mural specialist Marianne Kauppila, whose works form the basis of the festival’s visual identity. Her exhibition Rock’n’roll lovestyle explores her relationship with music and how it has evolved over her life. The exhibition will be on display at the Oulunsalo Library from 6 August to 28 September. The opening will take place at the start of the festival on Wednesday, 5 August, featuring a performance by percussion talent Joonatan Lappalainen from Oulu.
The festival’s first two concerts celebrate ensemble music. At the opening concert at Karjasilta Church on Wednesday, 5 August, the festival’s international guest, the Grammy-winning Danish vocal ensemble Theatre of Voices, will demonstrate its versatility in both early and contemporary music. The concert will also feature Ravel’s string quartet performed by the industrious Meta4 string quartet. On Thursday, 6 August, Theatre of Voices and Meta4 will perform, among other works, their own version of Mozart’s Requiem at Oulu Cathedral.
Friday, 7 August begins with a lunch concert by students of the Oulu Conservatory at Theatre Restaurant Aulis. In the evening, the audience can expect laughter – and perhaps tears – when the popular theatre group Red Nose Company brings its new production Voces – Inner Voices to Valvesali. This staged concert for two clowns and the Meta4 string quartet combines beloved chamber music classics with theatrical storytelling. The performance is built around Jean Sibelius’s string quartet Voces Intimae, but also includes music ranging from Beethoven to Saariaho.
Festival weekend includes a rare piano quintet, poetry, neighborly love, and a prelude to the anniversary year
On Saturday, 8 August, the festival returns to the Akola Kuivuri venue in Ii, where violinists Minna Pensola and Antti Tikkanen will push the limits of virtuosity. Bacewicz’s violin quartet will take entertainment to the extreme. In the evening at Oulu City Hall, pianist Heini Kärkkäinen will perform Josef Suk’s rarely heard piano quintet together with Meta4. Before the concert, the festival’s visual artist Marianne Kauppila will discuss her artistic work.
The festival’s closing day, 9 August, begins with a concert at AaltoSiilo dedicated to our beloved neighboring country, Sweden. Featuring Vuokko Hovatta, the programme includes musical settings of poetry in both Finnish and Swedish. It also features original compositions by Atte Kilpeläinen, arranged for string quartet by Jussi Lampela. The closing concert returns to the festival’s roots in Oulunsalo. In summer 2027, Oulunsalo Soi will celebrate its 30th anniversary, and this year’s finale at the Oulunsalon Nuorisoseuran talo marks the starting point for planning the anniversary celebrations.
The festival is part of Oulu August Festivals and the Oulu2026 cultural programme.
Explore the festival programme here.
