VILJAMAA, Milla

Milla Viljamaa is a finnish musician, composer and producer known for her creative works in various fields ranging from folk, tango, rock, pop and chamber music to theatre, opera, ballet and film productions as well as different kinds of concerts. She thinks everything in her work grows from folk music that was her major at the Sibelius Academy where she graduated with a Master’s degree. Milla has many ensembles that have found their inspiration from folk music and tango. Duo Milla Viljamaa & Johanna Juhola won the Astor Piazzolla competition in Italy 2002 and after that the duo has created their own tango nuevo music and released it on five albums. Hereä combines folk music with jazz and Saaga Ensemble with a little bit of pop. Milla’s work as a composer received significant recognition when she was given the 2012 Teosto Prize from her solo album “Minne”. The prize, awarded by the Finnish Composers' Copyright Society Teosto, is one of the biggest art prizes in Nordic countries and aims to highlight new works that are fresh, original and innovative. This way her work as a pioneer of harmonium music has been noticed and appreciated. “It is important to open new doors and windows all the time to keep the creativity growing to different directions.”