KALANIEMI, Maria

Maria Kalaniemi, a master of free-bass button accordion, is one of Finland's leading contemporary accordionists. Technically brilliant as a player, and adept at improvisation, she is also a very powerful, intuitive and sensitive composer, with pieces that stylistically touch in numerous areas but feature her own personality as the driving force. Her roots are in folk and classical music but her sights and abilities go far beyond existing styles.
A former member of Niekku and Aldargaz, she is also an educator at the Sibelius Academy Folk Music Department. Kalaniemi has released numerous albums, including collaborations with the international collective Accordion Tribe. She has toured extensively across Europe, North America, and Japan. Her recent releases include the duo album *Åkerö* with Timo Alakotila and *Vilda Rosor*, featuring Finnish-Swedish songs.