We are The Kantele Ensemble!

Dear guests! If you get here from the page “Dom Kantele” you have certainly formed a clear notion of our Family. If you get here from our main page – well, let’s get acquainted! And as it’s supposed to be we will begin from the very beginning.

First of all. We are state ensemble of Karelia called the Kantele Ensemble. We live in Petrozavodsk, in the capital of the amazing region – “the land of lakes and forests” – Karelia.
Secondly, we are state concert organization, which celebrates the 70th anniversary in 2006.
Thirdly, we are dozens of artists plus administration and technical services.
Generally speaking, we are a big and friendly family where everyone works in the right place and shares with each other with imagination, talent and love to what we all do.

Let’s take a walk through our “Kantele House”!
So, the ground floor... Sounds of a piano and a clear command voice... Don’t be surprised! It’s our ballet group.
At the end of the passage you can also hear the sounds of a clarinet, kantele and accordion – our Instrumental ensemble is rehearsing there. We won’t disturb them, will we? Let’s continue our little excursion...
It’s possible that you haven’t even suspected that behind this astonishing curtain decorated with Karelian embroidery there is the Instrument Workshop. In this workshop national musical instruments are renovated and the new are produced including the national one - “kantele”. The workshop is equipped with super modern equipment which was bought owing to President’s grant.
On the ground floor there is another workshop – the National Costume Workshop.
Karelian, Finnish, Veps, Ingrian costumes, costumes from Russian Zaonezhye, costumes with ethnical elements, costumes to order are sewn here. Thus, all our concert costumes have been sewn in this workshop!
The National Costume Workshop was opened within the conception of “Dom Kantele”, and we can hardly imagine our today life without it!

If we stay here longer, we will be able to hear how the Kantele House is being filled with childish voices. Small wonder! Like in any other family, we have children too. Our Youth studio is something like a secondary planet. Each year about 100 children at the age of 7-18 are taught in the studio. National singing, folk dance, the instrument “kantele... What to choose? It’s really hard to make up your mind... But those who has made a choice, grow up and make another decision – they choose “Kantele”.

Now it’s time to go to the first floor. We can hear karelian chastushkas – the Female vocal group “Aino” is rehearsing here. At the same time in the cabinet of Art Manager is going on the rehearse of the Male vocal quartet. If you enter the room situated opposite to this cabinet you’ll stop short with a sinking heart - more than 800 sets of costumes of different nationalities are kept here. Going further you will see the reception room. Next to it you will find yourself in the cabinet of Kantele Director. There is an exclusive souvenir production which is produced in the Dom Kantele. You can order or buy everything you like in our Souvenir Shop.

Well and then... Then I’m afraid we have to disturb our Director. Let me introduce her to those who hasn’t known yet – Lilia Stepanova. She came to the ensemble in 2001. And together with her it came the new century, the new millennium, the new ideas.
Quite recently, in February 2005, a new department – the Touring and performing department - start to work. It was created to stimulate the tour activity of our ensemble. As a first result of it’s work – the ensemble made a tour to Vologda region and has been practising concerts in many parts of Karelia.
The Publishing and advertising department provides the ensemble with advertisement – with concert posters, advertising booklets, posters, cards, the book “Kantele. Rhythms of fortune” and other presentational production which we offer to our spectators.
Eventually, we will open the door to the sacred room of the Ensemble of kantelists. Kantele of all kinds and sorts reign here – big and small, piccolo, prima, alto, bas… Would you like to learn to differ them? Welcome to our concerts! It’s well worth seeing! It’s well worth hearing!

What we else have in the Kantele House is the library of more than 1600 units! It’s unique fund – memorable albums and photo albums, considerable quantity of literature, the collection of posters, booklets and many other interesting and sometimes unexpected materials are kept there.
Very soon in our House there will be a museum!
Even now the recording studio is working at releasing a new CD and DVD.
We’re going to create a tourist office and our own box office...
To say seriously, we are trying to develop not only our priority line of activity – performances, but also supplementary structural subdivisions – “cultural industry”. In other words, we are building our “Kantele House”! The realization of these plans and new projects is before us!
Thus we are completing our little walk through the Kantele House. Now it’s time to give more detailed information.