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Emmi Maaria Ensemble performing at the Finnish Church in London, 33 Albion Street London SE16 7HZ, from 6.30 p.m. on Saturday, 20 April 2024 (The venue is a 10 min walk from Canada Water and a 3 min walk from Rotherhithe overground station.)

Join us for a musical evening through Finnish landscapes and poetry!

Emmi Maaria, a London-based Finnish songwriter and composer, seamlessly combines pop and folk sensibilities with classical arrangements to create something both engaging and accessible.

Her music is inspired by Finnish nature and literature with stirring authenticity and timely relevance throughout.

Emmi Maaria will be presenting her songs together with her ensemble:

Sanni Talvitie, violin

Freya Hicks, viola

Kirke Gross, cello

Aris Solomon, alto-saxophone and percussions

Tickets £11.50 for members of the Anglo-Finnish Society, the Anglo-Swedish Society, the Anglo-Danish Society and the Anglo-Norse Society.

£17 for non-members

Price includes a light supper (a savoury vegetarian tart and salad) with a glass of wine but tickets bought after 10 April will include wine and snacks but not the light meal.

Please book to attend on Eventbrite: Emmi Maaria Ensemble Tickets, Sat 20 Apr 2024 at 18:30 | Eventbrite

Please see also: Home | Emmi Maaria

Guided Walk in the Inns of Court on Thursday, 13 June 2024 from 11 a.m. (meeting point at Temple Station)

Barrister Peter Hofford will take a group of up to 15 for a guided walk in the Inns of Court, including the Temple and Chancery Lane and possibly other places nearby. The walk will last approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. The cost is £10 per person. 

Please email the Hon. Secretary at secretary@anglofinnishsociety.org.uk if you wish to attend.

Pre-War Rolls-Royce Motor Cars with a Finnish Connection – A Talk by Sir John Stuttard, KStJ, JP, FCA, Lord Mayor of the City of London from 2006 to 2007.

3 p.m. at the Allen Room at St Anne’s Church, Soho, 55 Dean Street, London, W1D 6AF.

Sir John has written a book Pre-War Rolls-Royce Motor Cars with a Finnish connection (available online).

In the 1920s as trade between Finland and the UK flourished, Finnish businessmen acquired Rolls-Royce motor cars.

The most famous Finn using a Rolls-Royce was Marshal Baron Mannerheim who used a 1915 Rolls-Royce as his staff car, which had been delivered to the Imperial Russian Army and came to be in Finland after Independence in 1917. It was used in 1924 after the Paris Olympics, conveying Paavo Nurmi (nine times Olympic gold medallist and three silver medals) as part of the welcoming party in Esplanadi, Helsinki.

The talk is free and there is still room. 

Please email the Hon. Secretary at secretary@anglofinnishsociety.org.uk if you wish to attend the talk.

Bookings are now closed for the pre-talk 3-course lunch in the Great Hall of Lincoln’s Inn with a welcome drinks reception is offered at the Members Common Room (MCR) – all £45.00 per person inclusive of VAT. Please note the dress code for lunch in the Great Hall is business or lounge suits, court dress or smart casual dress. 

Sir John’s book is available via Amazon. Net proceeds of sale will go to the Rolls-Royce charity (The Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation) which exists to provide prizes to auto-engineering apprentices, education about the history of Rolls-Royce cars and, most important, maintaining old records:

Pre-War Rolls-Royce Motor Cars with a Finnish connection : Stuttard, John: Amazon.co.uk: Books

Kaija Saariaho Memorial Concert with The Carice Singers at Kings Place

Sunday 2 June 2024 6 p.m. (doors open 5.30 p.m.)

Address: Hall One, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG (next to King’s Cross Station)

Supported by the Anglo-Finnish Society

2 June 2024 marks the first anniversary of the death of Kaija Saariaho, the highly acclaimed Finnish composer who has left an enduring mark on the world of music. In her memory, The Carice Singers will perform three of Saariaho’s choral milestones including her final, powerful choral work Reconnaissance.

The programme also includes the UK premiere of Valossa (Towards the Light), a choral work by Lotta Wennäkoski, a former student of Saariaho.

The Carice Singers, founded by its artistic director, George Parris, on his 18th birthday in 2011, has carved out a unique place in the UK’s choral scene and beyond. Parris is also part of the Finnish music scene; notably he studied for a Master’s Degree in Choral Conducting at the Sibelius Academy, graduating in 2021 with the highest mark for his final recital.

The Anglo-Finnish Society is proud to be supporting this event having helped with securing funding after the Finnish Institute was compelled to withdraw its own funding at short notice last month.

Please show your support for this celebration of one of Finland’s greatest composers and the best Finnish contemporary choral music by coming to Kings Place on 2 June.

Follow this link for further information and tickets: 

Kaija Saariaho Memorial Concert with The Carice Singers • Classical • Kings Place

Tour of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), King Charles Street, London SW1A 2AH, Friday 29 November 2024 at 2 p.m. 

Following our popular FCDO tour earlier this year, we are organising another opportunity to enjoy this tour. 

The current premises of the FCDO in King Charles Street, designed by the architect George Gilbert Scott and completed between 1868 and 1874, originally comprised four government departments. The tour will include the Grand Staircase in the former Foreign Office and Durbar Court in the former India Office. Depending on how many rooms are in use, it may also be possible to visit some of the fine rooms, including the Locarno Suite and the India Office Council Chamber. The tour should last about an hour.

Directions:

The nearest tube station is Westminster (Jubilee and District & Circle lines). King Charles Street is the first street on the left as you head north on Whitehall (if you get to Downing Street, you’ve gone too far). The FCDO is the building on the right-hand side of King Charles Street. Go through the arch and then half-way up the street where you will find the main entrance. Reception is through the gateway, on the left. If you bring bags with you, please note they will be checked by our security officers before you are allowed into the building.

Please arrive at the FCDO Reception by 13.40 at the latest to allow time for you to collect a visitor’s pass. To ensure entry into the FCDO you will need to bring a form of photo ID, preferably a passport or driving licence.

We remain grateful to Professor Patrick Salmon OBE, Chief Historian at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, for facilitating this event.

The event is now fully booked. 

After the tour the participants have been kindly invited for tea at the National Liberal Club. Completed in 1887, the club’s Italianate building on the Embankment of the River Thames was designed by Alfred Waterhouse who is also the architect for the Natural History Museum in London. 

The Finnish Defence Attaché will be giving a talk about Finland’s NATO Membership on Friday, 9 February 2024 at 3 p.m. at the Allen Room at St Anne’s Church, Soho, 55 Dean Street, London, W1D 6AF.

Captain (Navy) Mika Raunu will be addressing issues such as the reasons why the Finnish public mood switched so quickly in favour of NATO membership after so many decades of determined neutrality, how the system of national military service works and how reservists are kept up to date, with some information about the number of full-time military professionals in Finland and also about ongoing contributions to UN peace-keeping forces.

This event is free and open to members and guests with a capacity of up to 40 in the Allen Room.

We also invite attendees of the talk to lunch on 9 February with a drinks reception from midday at the Members Common Room of Lincoln’s Inn and then lunch in the Great Hall from 12.30.

We would then need to make our way from Lincoln’s Inn to St Anne’s in Soho for the talk starting at 3 p.m.

Please note the dress code for lunch in the Great Hall is business or lounge suits, court dress or smart casual dress.

Place is limited and numbers and dietary requirements need to be confirmed to the Hon. Secretary by 1 February. A three-course meal with a glass of wine and welcome drinks are offered for £40 per person.

This event is now fully booked but if you wish to be added to the waiting list, please email the Hon. Secretary at secretary@anglofinnishsociety.org.uk.

Annual General Meeting at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, 13 March 2024 followed by a light buffet dinner.

Notice sent to current subscribing Members of the Society who are requested to notify the Hon. Secretary no later than 5th March 2024 of their intention to attend the AGM or tender their apologies to him, preferably by email to secretary@anglofinnishsociety.org.uk.

Tuesday, 23 January 2024 at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 14 Queen Anne’s Gate, London, SW1H 9AA.

Art Expert Christina Cadogan will give a talk on Nordic art to the Anglo-Swedish and Anglo-Finnish Societies about the advent of a more modern style of painting in Sweden and Finland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was a time of huge social, political and cultural change in Europe and we will look at how Swedish and Finnish art evolved during this period discussing, amongst others, the work of Hilma af Klint and Helene Schjerfbeck.

Christina Cadogan worked for several years at Bonhams, the auctioneers, specialising in drawings and watercolours. She has also worked for the Swedish Embassy in London advising on art and design. Christina now works as an art consultant and art dealer specialising in Nordic Art. Her next exhibition of Nordic Art will be held at Burgh House in Hampstead opening on 17th January. See www.cadoganfinearts.com for more information.

Light refreshments will be served and there will be a chance to mingle after the talk. AFS Members can bring one guest at the member price of £10 but additional guests would have to pay £20. Please email the Hon. Secretary at secretary@anglofinnishsociety.org.uk if you wish to attend.

Lady in a Black dress by Helene Schjerfbeck.