Pasi Saarelma
Pasi Saarelma (born 1955 in Salo, Finland) is a Finnish baritone, rock and jazz musician, and music teacher. His career spans opera, rock, dance music, and jazz. He performed with the progressive rock band Nimbus in the 1970s, later appearing with various jazz and dance ensembles, including Greyhound Jazz Band, Alvi's Dixie Stompers, and the New Orleans–style Stompers. Saarelma has sung leading baritone roles in Finnish opera productions and performed with the Savonlinna Opera Festival Choir. Since 1987 he has worked as a music teacher in Kirkkonummi, where he is also a founding member and longtime chairman of the Kirkkonummi Opera Association.[1]
Early life
Saarelma was born in Salo, Finland, in 1955. He began his musical studies on the violin before expanding to singing and guitar. After military service, he financed his further studies by playing in Finnish dance bands.[1]
In 1987 he moved to Kirkkonummi, where he has worked as a music teacher since 1988. He has taught at several schools, including Nissnikun and Sepän schools in Kirkkonummi, and earlier also in Salo, Halikko, Perniö, Veikkola, and Heikkilä.[1]
Musical career
Early bands and rock music
Saarelma's first band was Surprise, which played rock music in the style of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Later he joined Motelli, a touring rock group whose best-known performance was as the support act for the Ramones in Helsinki in 1978.[1]
In the early 1970s Saarelma was the singer and bassist of the progressive rock group Nimbus. The band's only album, Obus (1974), later gained cult status among Finnish progressive rock enthusiasts.[2] Modern reviews have described the album as "quite a revelation" and "one of the better Finnish albums from the early 1970s".[3] The 2016 vinyl reissue was promoted as "pure vintage-sounding Finnish progressive rock and psychedelia of the early seventies".[4]
Jazz and other ensembles
Over the years, Saarelma has played in numerous ensembles representing different styles:
- Greyhound Jazz Band – his current main group, where he plays bass.
- Paattipojat – a Finnish dance music band.
- Käytetty Tavara – a country rock band.
- Alvi's Dixie Stompers – a dixieland band, with Saarelma as lead vocalist.
- Estrados and Silkkipaperitaivas – light music ensembles.
In the 1990s he also performed with the Stompers, a New Orleans–style jazz group, singing and playing washboard.[5]
Opera
Saarelma studied singing at the Helsinki Conservatory, and privately with Kimmo Lappalainen, Heikki Orama, Matti Lehtinen, Juho Nisula, and Juri Statnik.[1]
He has sung baritone roles in Finnish opera productions with the Helsinki Conservatory Opera, Sibelius Academy Opera, Vaasa Opera, Turku Opera, Ilmajoki Music Festival, and Opera Association HOO. His repertoire includes Mozart roles such as Figaro and Don Giovanni, as well as Verdi's Rigoletto.[1]
He also sang in the Savonlinna Opera Festival Choir in 1986, 1987, and 1990.[1] The Savonlinna Opera Festival has been described by The Guardian as "one of the world's most unusual music festivals," held in a medieval lakeside castle.[6] The event attracts around 60,000 visitors annually, including a large international audience, and is considered among Europe's leading opera festivals.[7]
Teaching and cultural activity
Since 1988 Saarelma has worked as a music teacher in Kirkkonummi, mainly at Nissnikun and Sepän schools, with additional teaching experience in Salo, Halikko, Perniö, Veikkola, and Heikkilä.[1]
He is a founding member and long-time chairman of the Kirkkonummi Opera Association. In 2006, he appeared as the President in the production of the Porkkala Opera.[1]
Musical tastes
As a versatile musician, Saarelma appreciates a wide musical spectrum. In addition to jazz and opera, he has expressed admiration for Finnish artists such as Pauli Hanhiniemi and the pop group PMMP, as well as respect for classic jazz performers.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 "Kirkkonummen Oopperayhdistys – Pasi Saarelma biography". Kirkkonummen Oopperayhdistys. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ↑ "Nimbus and Obus". Musiikkikirjastot.fi. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ↑ "Nimbus – Obus (1974, Finland)". Unencumbered Music Reviews. 2014-01-12. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ↑ "Nimbus – Obus LP reissue". Shadoks Music / Forced Exposure. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ↑ "Otava Happy Jazz 1996". Jazzrytmit.fi. 1996. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ↑ "Salmon, saunas and sopranos: Finland's opera festival with a difference". The Guardian. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ↑ "What the audience says: why Savonlinna has one of Europe's best opera festivals". Savonlinna Opera Festival. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
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