Rajaton

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Rajaton
Left to right: Hannu Lepola, Jussi Chydenius, Ahti Paunu, Soila Sariola, Essi Wuorela, Virpi Moskari
Background information
Origin	Helsinki, Finland
Genre(s)	a cappella/Choral/Pop
Years active	1997 – Present
Website	www.rajaton.net
Members
Essi Wuorela Virpi Moskari Soila Sariola Hannu Lepola Ahti Paunu Jussi Chydenius

Rajaton is a Finnish a cappella choral ensemble, founded in Helsinki in 1997. The Finnish word rajaton means boundless, which is an indication of both the breadth of their repertoire, from sacred music to near Europop; and, according to their official website "the way Rajaton approaches music". ^[1]

Rajaton performs primarily in Finland but also tours around Europe and the rest of the world. Performances in North America are rare, but Rajaton appears regularly in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada for the Festival 500 choral festival, and was the guest artist at the Kaleid Choral Festival in Woodstock, Ontario in 2005 and 2006. Rajaton's fan following has grown substantially since 2002. In 2005, Rajaton album sales reached 100,000 worldwide as their album Kevät went gold.

Rajaton also includes original material in their repertoire: aside from works by composers such as Mia Makaroff, Laura Sippola and Anna-Mari Kähärä, some of their pieces are written or arranged by members of the ensemble. Many lyrics are adapted from the Kanteletar.

Soila Sariola is the alto for the group. A versatile singer, she can sing solo lines as well as back up sounds such as imitations of trumpet, guitars, and electric guitars, and does some of the arranging and composing for the group.

Sariola was born into a musical family and took violin lessons at East Helsinki Music School, but switched to the saxophone in her teenage years. She has also played the kantele, the Finnish national instrument, and the harmonium. After participating in the Tapiola Choir and a number of other choirs and vocal ensembles. Sariola joined Rajaton in 1999.

1 Members
2 Teal Sound
3 Discography
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Members

The six members of the group are:

[edit] Teal Sound

Teal Sound Drum and Bugle Corps, Florida's Premier Drum and Bugle Corps, performs the music of Rajaton in their 2008 season with the theme, "Voices of the Seasons." Also, performed their music in 2007, "Voices of the Sun." Director Randy Blackburn, Brass Caption Head and Program Coordinator Ron Ellis, and Percussion Caption Head Terrell Smith recently made a trip to Finland to visit Rajaton, in which they shared musical ideas for the 2008 book. Both parties are looking forward to the expansion of their musical partnership.

[edit] Discography

Maa (October 2007)

Rajaton celebrates its tenth anniversary by a new album with new songs composed to Finnish poetry, including a new a cappella arrangement of Jean Sibelius' Valse Triste.

Rajaton sings Abba with Lahti Symphony Orchestra (2006)

An English album containing enriched versions of Abba hits. Some tracks are pure a cappella Rajaton, while on others they are backed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra.

Out of Bounds (2006)

Mostly-English album containing two re-releases, three new versions of previously recorded songs, English versions (but not direct translations) of three Kevät songs, and three new tracks.

Kevät (2005)

Pop album, entirely in Finnish. This CD is more rhythmically and harmonically complex than some of their others, and proudly boasts the fact that the group does not use any instruments despite the many instrument-like sounds on the album.

Joulu DVD (2004)

DVD of a live concert recording featuring songs from the Joulu CD, as well as some bonus features.

Joulu (2003)

Rajaton's Christmas album, containing two CDs, and featuring many songs sung in Finnish and arranged for Rajaton.

Sanat (2002)

Rajaton's religious album. It features music in 4 different languages, all relating to Christianity. The album consists of more mellow, flowing tracks. The word sanat means "words" in Finnish, and "heals" in Latin.

Boundless (2001)

The first of two albums in which the majority of the songs are sung in English. The album features a more popular style of music, with a focus on lively, fun songs.