Performer of the Year 2005
Richard Koski

Two-row diatonic button accordionist Richard Koski was chosen Performer of the Year (POY) by Finlandia Foundation National (FFN) at its meeting in San Francisco in October 2004.

Richard is well known in both Finnish and Finnish-American musical circles, especially in the Northeast and Upstate New York. His POY term will enable fans of his style of music to hear him around the country. FinnGrandFest2005 in Marquette, August 10-14, will be an excellent opportunity. He is likely to have performed in many other venues by then.

Finlandia Foundation of Colorado has already signed him up for a gig on February 26, when they will have him entertain at their annual Kalevala Day dinner in Denver. They will also be celebrating their 40th anniversary. LA Consul General Manu Virtamo has also been invited to participate in this event.

Richard has performed at the Kaustinen and Kihaus festivals in Finland. He began performing at the Finnish Hall in Van Etten, NY, and has continued to perform for numerous Finnish, square, and contra dances in the Finger Lakes area of New York.

In 2002, he was a featured performer at the American Folklore Society’s annual meeting. He has recorded two CDs: Saturday Night Sauna with the Crumtown Ramblers and Richard Koski: Solo Two-row Finnish American Button Accordion.

He grew up on a farm in the Finnish-American community around Ithaca, NY, and now lives in Trumansburg. He learned much of his music from his father, who played accordion at home, and for dances in the area. “We still get together and play the old Finn tunes on the front porch,” he says. One of his tapes is called The Father Tunes.

Juha Niemelä, Folklorist and Scholar of Finnish-American Music in Turku, Finland, says: “(Richard Koski) is one the key musicians in the Finnish-American music tradition. (He) has preserved the old-time music…and has been the source of the old Finnish melodies and the way of playing and performing which is already dead and gone in Finland.”

Juha has lectured on Finnish-American music at FinnFests, and at FinnForum meetings. He has also published in The Journal of Finnish Studies.

from:
http://www.finlandiafoundation.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=39706...