Sivén, Jani

Jani Sivén (b. 1971) is an acclaimed Finnish conductor, composer and pedagogue. He is a full-time lecturer in choral conducting at the Sibelius Academy and artistic director of the Audite Chamber Choir.

Sivén has previously served as artistic director of the Tampere Philharmonic Choir, Sinfonietta SOI, the Finnish Choral Institute, the Finnish Boys’ Choir and the Galante Youth Choir and as chorus master of the Helsinki Music Centre Choir. As a guest conductor, he has collaborated with over 40 choirs and orchestras, including the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, the chamber choirs of both Finnish and Latvian radio, and the choir of the Finnish National Opera. In his role as a teacher, Sivén served as lecturer in choral and orchestral conducting at the Helsinki Conservatory and ran the teaching programme in choral and ensemble conducting at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

As a composer, Sivén’s main works are his three operas: Pyhä Birgitta (‘Saint Birgitta’, 2018), commissioned by the town of Naantali to celebrate its 575th anniversary; Abelard & Héloïse (2008), commissioned by the Espoo Sello Hall; and Troijan naiset (‘The Women of Troy’, 2002), a work commissioned by Helsinki Conservatory and performed both in Finland and at the Hebbel theatre in Berlin. Other notable works include The Earth does not belong to man (2021), composed for the thirtieth anniversary season of Audite Chamber Choir, Metropolin tuulet(‘Winds of the Metropolis’, 2005), a cantata commissioned for the centenary of the Nation of Southern Finland student organisation, and Fenestra Finnorum (2004), a work commissioned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Finnish Institute in Rome. Sivén’s works have garnered much critical acclaim in the press. The Finnish daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat exalted his latest opera, Pyhä Birgitta, saying that it is “among the best Finnish operas of the 21st century”.

Works

Title of the work (Translation) Price

Duration Division of parts Year of composing
Poet/collection Language Style

SA choirs

SATB choirs

9`

00``

SATB

2021

Hollow Horn, John, Seattle, Chief

English

Contemporary

TB choirs

Multiple choirs