MY CHOIRS
International Youth Choir YES
Hanne founded International Youth Choir YES in 2014. Hanne's idea was to form a "second generation international choir" from the children of International Choir Vox Europae, added with some other young choir singers. YES is conducted by Hanne from Finland and Erki Meister form Estonia, on the first YES meeting there was also a third conductor, Eric van Grootel from the Netherlands. YES had its' first singing week in Seinäjoki, Finland in 2014. Next YES singing weeks were held in Barcelona, Catalunya/Spain (2015), in Vilnius, Lithuania (2016), in Stockholm, Sweden (2017), in Budapest (2018) and in Antwerp, Belgium (2019). YES had a long pause between singing weeks in 2020-2023, as corona virus made traveling too risky. YES will assemble in Hiiumaa, Estonia in July 2024, after a long five-year pause.
Luritus concert tours abroad:
-2010 Lithuania
-2011 England
-2012 Belgium
-2013 Hungary & Austria
-2014 Ireland
-2016 Slovenia
-2018 Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania
-2018 China
-2019 Spain
-2019 China
-2023 Lithuania
Youth Choir LURITUS
Luritus is a youth choir founded by Hanne Orrenmaa in 2009. Luritus is a choir that wants to develop new choral expression and perform with a glint in their eyes. Luritus boys and girls sing, dance, bodyperc, rap, perform musicals, play drama and recite poems. In spring 2012, Luritus was granted a first prize in the "free category" of the biggest European choir festival in Neerpelt, Belgium. The jury praised Luritus for their energy, charisma and inventiveness. The background organization Luritus ry is strongly involved in charity work through concerts, recordings and other charity projects, as performers and producers.
Luritus has cooperation with many internationally known performs and groups; for example singers Saara Aalto and Teemu Roivainen, rock band Softengine (the Finnish representant of Eurovision song contest in 2014), singer-actress, Unicef Goof Will Ambassador Eija Ahvo, the prime vocal group of Zambia, Zambian Vocal Collection and Swedish childrens' song composer Dan Bornemark. The most popular productions of Luritus have been musical LuMikko and musical Läppä, which were written by choir members together with Hanne, and directed by Hanne. There were 25 performances of LuMikko and 21 performances of Läppä, 4000 viewers saw musical LuMikko, 4200 viewers saw musical Läppä.
Luritus has made 11 concert tours abroad, the furtest one to China. Luritus also often hosts visiting foreign choirs in Seinäjoki. The choir wants to act in the spirit of John Lennon's song Imagine, to promote world peace and equality between all people.
Female Choir TUULIVOIMA
All the singers of the female choir Tuulivoima (Windpower) have also been singers of the reputed Seinäjoki Girls' Choir (1976-2002), which was one of the most succesful Finnish youth choirs in its time. Seinäjoki Girls' Choir won a gold medal in the very first choir olympics (World Choir Games) in Linz, Austria, in 2000. Seinäjoki Girls' Choir was conducted by Hanne's mother Tuulikki Orrenmaa.
Hanne founded Tuulivoima choir in winter 2011. The name, “Windpower”, refers to soft values, and the choir participates in many charity projects. Tuulivoima has continued its fruitful cooperation with one of Finland's most successful conductors, Jorma Panula, who already in 1984 composed an extensive church composition, Farmers's Prayer, for these singers.
The repertoire of Tuulivoima is unusually wide, since it consists of the Seinäjoki Girls' Choir repertoire from its 26 years of existence: spiritual, Christmas, ethnic, and light music, including a wide range of foreign numbers. The female choir Tuulivoima practices periodically and is conducted by a former member of the Seinäjoki Girls' Choir: class teacher, choir conductor Kirsi Burman. Hanne is in the board of Tuulivoima and arranges foreign concert tours and performances for the choir.
Tuulivoima has had two successful musicals: Lakeuden Naiset, which honored the 100th, and Hunningolla, which was a humor-filled story of four ladies struggling with their midlife crises.
Female Choir HUVINA
In 2018 Hanne founded a female choir for those ladies, who want to sing but don't dare to do it as they think they can't sing. The aim of Huvina is to give to its' singers self confidence in singing as well as joy and knowledge of singing techniques. The singers or this Huvina Female Choir quickly noticed, that with proper instructions they can sing. Huvina has developed year by year, so that in 2023 the choir already performed in a big charity concert in as many as four parts. Huvina has given many charity performances, thus giving joy to others.
International Choir VOX EUROPAE (1982-2023)
The roots of Vox Europae are in the international student choir that was formed in 1982 for the AGED choir festival in Innsbruck, Austria. This international choir was supposed to sing together only once – but as the singers really enjoyed singing in the leadership of choir professor Fritz ter Wey (from Aachen, Germany), they together decided to form a permanent choir. Vox Europae ended its´ 41 years of existence in Seinäjoki in August 2023. The very last concert of Vox Europae was in Lakeuden Risti church in Seinäjoki on August 5, 2023, two hours after Hanne´s father Juhani Orrenmaa died. This concert was dedicated to Juhani Orrenmaa.
In 1983-2002 Vox Europae used to have a singing week once a year, usually at summer. These singing weeks were always in different parts of Europe and they were organized by the members of Vox Europae. After rehearsing for 4-6 days Vox Europae gave 2-4 concerts and other performances. In some of the meetings there were guest conductors from the organizing country of that particular meeting. In 2002 Vox Europae was no longer a student choir, as the singers had ended their studies and were now tied up with their jobs and had started families - some with fellow Vox members. Therefor in 2002 Vox Europae started an almost decade-long beauty sleep.
In 2011 Hanne Orrenmaa, who has been singing in Vox Europae from the very beginning, decided to organize ”one more meeting” for Vox Europae in Seinäjoki, Finland. This led into another meeting in the Netherlands in 2012, and yet another meeting in Norway in 2013. After a four year pause Vox Europae had a singing week in Sweden in 2017. In Sweden Vox Europae was accompanied with another choir, the International Youth Choir YES, which Hanne founded in 2014 to be a ”second generation international choir” mainly for the children of the singers of Vox Europae.
Hanne Orrenmaa was in the board or the choir from the very beginning until the very end. Hanne was also the president of the choir in the 1980´s and the secretary of the choir in 1990´s. Hanne organized four singing weeks for Vox Europae: in Seinäjoki (1984), in Julkujärvi (1990), in Seinäjoki (2011) and in Seinäjoki (2023).
Vox Europae had singers from these European countries:
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Italy (Süd-Tirol), Latvia, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain (Catalunya), Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey.
Vox Europae had singing weeks in these countries, in some of these countries many times:
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy (Süd-Tirol), the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain (Catalunya), Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey