Hämäläis-Osakunnan Laulajat - The HOL Choir

Hämäläis-Osakunnan Laulajat, the HOL Choir, is a Helsinki-based student choir of about 35 members. Founded in 1929, it is the oldest academic mixed choir in Finland. The choir’s 80th anniversary season 2009 was marked by a series of notable achievements. In recent years, the choir has commissioned a number of contemporary works from its resident composers Alex Freeman and Matthew Whittall. Some of this music, along with works by other contemporary Finnish composers, was recorded on the album “Lehdellä - Among the Leaves” (Alba, NCD39), which was shortlisted for the “Emma Prize for Best Classical Album of 2009” and was selected as “Best Choral Album of 2009”.

As the choir’s artistic director of more than 10 years, Esko Kallio (MMus) has gently pushed the choir, helping each individual singer to excel and creating an instrument that is both vibrant and refined. This proved a winning formula in June 2009, when HOL performed at the Tampere Vocal Music Festival and received a full three gold stamps, the highest accolade, at the Choral Review.

The HOL Choir is set to continue on its musical path towards new challenges. The next milestone will be a recording of long forgotten mixed-choir songs composed and performed in Helsinki in the late 19th and early 20th century - a rediscovery of the purest age of Finnish Romanticism. The album will be published by the Helsinki City Museum and is due for release in November 2010.

As HOL is a choir consisting primarily of young adults, there are always plenty of extra-curricular activities to balance our tough rehearsal schedule. In addition to the traditional ‘beer after work’, the choir holds all kinds of social events and makes regular visits both to its home region of Häme and abroad.

If you would like to join the choir (usually in the beginning of terms), to book a quartet, or to know more about HOL in general, contact hol-litus(at)helsinki.fi

Or,

Hämäläis-Osakunnan Laulajat
Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6 D
00100 Helsinki
Finland