SIBELIUS SOCIETY
NORWAY

SIBELIUS PRIZE 2012 TO SINIKKA LANGELAND

The Sibelius Society of Norway has awarded the Sibelius Prize 2012 to singer, musician
and composer Sinikka Langeland. She will receive the prize at a concert given by the
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra at the Oslo Concert Hall on 1 November 2012.

Sinikka Langeland (b. 1961) is closely connected with the Skogfinn culture in Norway.
She has drawn attention to this culture by singing folk songs, such as rune songs and the
traditional kveding, as well as by playing the kantele, the Finnish national instrument. As
a composer, she has explored the world of traditional folk music and has juxtaposed it
with her self-composed melodies and lyrics. Sinikka Langeland is one of Norway’s most
distinctive folk musicians, and has an exceptionally broad range of contacts, including
many in the jazz and classical music communities. She is an extremely versatile artist,
whose work and commitment have played a major role in fostering knowledge of and
respect for the culture and traditions of the Skogfinn community in Norway.

The Sibelius Prize is an honorary award for outstanding efforts towards promoting
contact between the Finnish and Norwegian music communities or for promoting
understanding for and knowledge of Finnish music in Norway or Norwegian music in
Finland. The prize consists of NOK 100 000. This year the prize is being awarded for the
tenth time.

Previous recipients of the prize have been violinists Arve Tellefsen and Henning
Kraggerud, conductors Eivind Aadland and Jukka-Pekka Saraste, pianists Håvard Gimse
and Leif Ove Andsnes, mezzo-soprano Randi Stene, cellist Truls Mørk and professor Idar
Karevold.