Some of our favorite links for friends of kantele (you can suggest we add you to this list)
Kanteleliitto r.y. the national kantele organisation(you can be a member thru our local Jokilaaksojen Kanteleyhdistys and pay less!)
Teachers and musicians:
Timo Väänänen - Jane's teacher (she also has notated a lot of his repertoire!)
Sari Kauranen & Loituma - another one of our teachers and one of her performing groups
Sinikka Langeland - a wild and loveable kantele artist from Norway's Finnforest
Valdis Muktupavels - our Latvian kantele expert
Vilma Timonen - "Ms. Energy", one of our most recent teachers
Minna Raskinen - another teacher influencing our music
Outi Linnaranta - one of the experts on old kantele music from Haapavesi
Sources of information about kantele
Carl Rahkonen - America's kantele doctor
Organisers of kantele courses
Kantelelaulu - another Finnish-American who fell in love with kantele and organises instruction in Maine, U.S.A.
Venues for kantele players
Haapavesi Folk Festival orgaisation - we sometimes collaborate with them, they also hold other kantele and folk concerts in a festival in late June/ early July
Kylpyläsaari - concerts and other events are often held at the picturesque campground on an island on the river near the center of Haapavesi
New York Mills Cultural Center - great acoustics and wonderful people in Minnesota's Finnish triangle
Finn Creek Museum and Festival - another place in Minnesota welcoming kanteleplayers, festival in August
Finnish American Society of Madison Wisconsin - energetic organisers in the northern midwest area in the U.S.
Studios, recordings, technology, kanteles
Jousisoitin Suihkonen - Kantele and violinbuilder in Haapavesi
IMU-musiikki - the fantastic kantele couple Sinikka and Matti Kontio teach, perform, run a mobile studio and sell technology for kanteleplayers
Leskelän kantele - kantelebuilders Leskelä and son, the Finnish Cultural Fund gave us their kanteles and Erkki donated his latest prototype concert kantele to Jane in June 2004!
Ylitornion soitinrakentajat - kantelebuilder Pekka Lovikka, builder of many of our kanteles
Amf-soitinrakentajat - soitinrakentajat Amf, builder of some of our kanteles
kantele.com - for kanteles, recordings and wonderful media coverage in North America
Media helping kantele