Uncovering the Untold Stories Through Music: Finnish Migration to North America and Soviet Karelia | Finland Today | News in English

The mass emigration from Finland to the U. S. and Canada starting in the 1860s created a rich musical legacy.

Music resonated in temperance clubs, workers’ halls, churches, homes and village communities.

Now, a research project called The Land of Dreams – Migration and Music from the late 19th Century to the Present, which focuses on the music culture of Finnish immigrants to North America and from there to Soviet Karelia, is requesting memories and material. The material will eventually be archived in the Migration Collection of the Migration Institute of Finland.

“Although migration as a phenomenon has been studied to a relatively large extent, the musical perspective is still emerging,” Saijaleena Rantanen, the initiator of the memory data collection project and professor of cultural study of music at the Sibelius Academy, said in a press release.

Besides singing, Finns took part in brass bands and dance music groups, with some traveling to make a living from music.

They recorded, collected and published many spiritual songs, fostering community ties and aiding their settlement in a new homeland.

In the 1920s and 1930s, people also sought better futures in Soviet Karelia. A unique musical culture emerged among Finnish descendants there, though it remains relatively unknown.

“Responding is easy,” the migration institute noted, “and even little reminiscences are important! We will be collecting memories until December 31, 2025.”

Memories can be sent by visiting the Migration Institute of Finland’s website:

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}