Planning the orchestra seating in Temppeliaukio Church. Photo by composer Ingvar Karkoff.

Welcome to my blog! I named it G.P., because sometimes one needs a "Generalpause" in the middle of the busy conductor's life. At those moments I will dedicate a couple of minutes for writing on this page.

At the moment I am in the middle of packing, since tomorrow I will leave to St Petersburg, Russia for rehearsals and a concert on the 4th Nordic Music Festival. Young conductor's life is sometimes really a strain: usually there is no activities whatsoever for several months, and then suddenly you are asked everywhere at the same time! It happens to me all the time...

This time after the concert on the May 18th I will travel to Luxemburg for a competition which starts on the 20th, and from there to US to assist on the Hot Springs Music Festival in Arkansas. I will be back home only in the end of June!

But as I travel, I will try to stop at some Internet cafes to write about my impressions about the places, the people, the music... I hope you will enjoy traveling with me!