New work for male choir – premiere and Japan tour
Olli Virtaperko’s latest work Yhdessä kuluu syysyö joutuin (“Together, the autumn night flies”) will be premiered 2 October 2026 in Espoo Cultural Centre by The Academic Male Choir Psaldo, followed by the choir’s concert tour in Japan, 17–24 October 2026.
The work is composed to poems translated into Finnish by poet Kai Nieminen, from a selection of old Japanese love songs, Rakasta sinä vain: valikoima vanhaa japanilaista laulurunoutta (1986). The poems set in the composition originate from two collections: the Ryūtatsu kōutashū, dating from around the turn of the 16th–17th centuries, and the Kanginshū, from 1518. The title poem, Yhdessä kuluu syysyö joutuin, comes from the former, while Kun tiedän: tapaamme and Käy kateeksi oma kaipuuni (“As I know: we will meet” and “My enviable longing”) come from the latter.
The ten-minute work is in a single movement, its three poems forming a thematically unified whole. Clearly defined, stylistically varied sections carry the piece forward, as the melodies and rhythms introduced at the outset take on new forms. These crystallized Japanese love poems receive a treatment updated for our own time, reflecting themes of love, longing, and passion that are timeless and shared across cultures.
The work is a commission by The Academic Male Choir Psaldo for the choir’s 30th anniversary concert and its tour of Japan in October 2026. The premiere takes place on 2 October 2026 at Espoo Cultural Centre at 19:00 with Hiski Wallenius conducting.
Japan tour dates:
17 October 2026 — Sapporo | 50th anniversary of the Hokkaido-Finland Society, Sapporo Evangelical Lutheran Church
18 October 2026 — Nemuro | BelClassic, Nemuro
20 October 2026 — Kyoto | in collaboration with the Doshisha University Male Choir
22 October 2026 — Tokyo | Chamber Music Hall of the Musashino Civic Cultural Hall
24 October 2026 — Narita | Naritasan Shinshō-ji Temple
