This year, Oulunsalo Soi takes audiences on a musical tour of Europe. Over the course of the five-day festival, a distinguished lineup of leading artists from Finland and abroad – including the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Theatre of Voices, the Meta4 String Quartet, and Red Nose Company – will guide audiences on a journey exploring the many countries that make up our continent.
The festival opens at Oulunsalo Library with the opening of this year’s featured visual artist Marianne Kauppila’s exhibition, Rock’n’roll Lovestyle. The opening event will feature a performance by Oulu’s rising percussion talent Joonatan Lappalainen.
Ensemble Music, Lunch Concert, and Theatrical Storytelling
The festival’s first two concerts are a celebration of ensemble music. At the opening concert at Karjasilta Church on Wednesday, 5 August, the festival’s international guest, the Danish vocal ensemble Theatre of Voices, will demonstrate its versatility in both early and contemporary music. The concert will also feature Ravel’s string quartet performed by the festival’s true workhorse, the Meta4 string quartet. On Thursday, 6 August, Theatre of Voices and Meta4 will perform their own version of Mozart’s Requiem at Oulu Cathedral, among other works.
Friday, 7 August begins with a lunchtime concert by students of the Oulu Conservatoire at Aulis Theatre Restaurant.
On Friday evening, audiences can expect laughter – and perhaps a few tears – as the acclaimed theatre company Red Nose Company brings its new production, Voces – Inner Voices, to Valvesali. This staged concert for two clowns and the Meta4 String Quartet combines some of the finest chamber music classics with theatrical storytelling. The performance is sold out.
Festival weekend includes a rare piano quintet, poetry, neighborly love, and a prelude to the anniversary year
On Saturday, 8 August, the festival returns to Akolan kuivuri, where violinists Minna Pensola and Antti Tikkanen will push the boundaries of virtuosity. Bacewicz’s violin quartet, in turn, takes entertainment to the extreme. On Saturday evening at Oulu City Hall, pianist Heini Kärkkäinen will perform Josef Suk’s rarely heard piano quintet together with Meta4. Before the concert, the festival’s visual artist of the year, Marianne Kauppila, will discuss her artistic work.
The closing day of the festival, 9 August begins at AaltoSiilo with a concert dedicated to our beloved neighbouring country, Sweden. Starring Vuokko Hovatta, the programme features settings of poetry in both Finnish and Swedish. It also includes original compositions by Atte Kilpeläinen, arranged for string quartet by Jussi Lampela. The concert is almost sold out.
The festival’s closing concert returns to the festival’s roots in Oulunsalo. In summer 2027, Oulunsalo Soi will celebrate its 30th anniversary, and this summer’s finale at the Oulunsalon Nuorisoseuran talo is the starting shot for planning the anniversary year.
The festival is part of the Oulu August Festivals and the Oulu2026 European Capital of Culture programme.
