Turku University Choir is a mixed choir of about 60 singers from almost every faculty of the University of Turku as well as from Åbo Akademi and other universities in Turku. We also have singers who have not yet started their studies, have already finished them or have not gone to university at all. The choir was founded in 1987, and in 2013 the name was changed from the Student Union of TYY’s choir (casually “TYY’s choir”) into its current form of Turku University Choir. In 2022 the choir celebrated its 35th anniversary with an anniversary concert and party on April 23rd. Petrus Marjanen started working as the choir’s conductor in January of 2024.
The choir’s repertoire consists mainly of various a cappella pieces, ranging from the Renaissance to present day. The choir holds multiple concerts in Turku every year, some of which are the traditional Advent concert in collaboration with the Collegium Musicum Turku (CMT) orchestra, the Quartet concert in early spring, and our own Spring concert in or around May. The choir also has multiple other annual traditions, such as performing at TYY’s May Day eve’s celebrations and at the May Day picnic, at Porthan’s Day parade, and at the end of the Independence Day torch procession at the soldiers’ grave.
Rehearsals take place in the Turku University building Arcanum every Thursday, and last for three hours. Section-specific rehearsals are held as needed, usually once every practice season. After rehearsals, the choir members have the option to gather at a local pub, Proffan Kellari, to sing together and get to know one another.
Weekend rehearsals are held twice a year, once every spring and autumn period. Over the course of the weekend, the choir rehearses their current repertoire, usually making more progress in a single weekend than the rest of the season combined. Weekend rehearsals are also instrumental for the choir’s sense of community.
In addition to the concerts with the whole choir, there are dozens of quartet gigs throughout the year for smaller groups. The groups usually consist of eight singers, two from each section, making it a double quartet.
Singing in a smaller group differs quite substantially from singing with the rest of the choir, because the responsibility placed on individual singers is markedly higher. Quartet gigs are, however, both very rewarding and helpful for singers.
The choir travels regularly both in Finland and to other countries. The pandemic prevented us from traveling for quite some time, but this year the choir is back on track! First, we will be heading to Sweden to participate in the Nordic Student Singers’ Summit 2025 in Linköping at the end of May, and then to Tampere in June to take part in the Tampere Vocal Music Festival.
If you want the choir or a quartet to perform live at your event, be it an official event, a birthday party, a graduation celebration or any other kind of special occasion, you can contact our quartet coordinator at kvartettivastaava@yliopistonkuoro.fi.
If you have questions about joining the choir, follow us on social media to see when our next auditions will be held, or contact our artistic board directly at raati@yliopistonkuoro.fi.
If you have questions about accessibility, you can contact our accessibility and harassment contact persons at yhdenvertaisuus@yliopistonkuoro.fi.
You can also contact our administrative board at hallitus@yliopistonkuoro.fi for any further questions.