"Kaikista luontevin ja teknisesti monipuolisin oli suomalainen Kaapo Ijas, joka johti Aïdan neljännen näytöksen. Hän on selvästi hienon uran alussa."
"Of them all, the most effortless and technically most versatile was the finn Kaapo Ijas who conducted the fourth act of Aïda – and he is clearly in the beginning of a big carreer."
Walter Dobner, Die Presse
Kapellimestari Kaapo Ijas (s.1988) on koko elämänsä ajan omistautunut intohimoisesti musiikille. Ijaksen laaja-alainen musiikkihistoria näkyy ja kuuluu ennakkoluulottomuutena ja idearikkautena myös hänen johtamissaan produktioissa. Hän rakastaa erityisesti oopperan draamaa, musiikin ja teatterin saumatonta liittoa ja suurten tuotantojen yhteisöllisyyttä. Soittamisen ja säveltämisen lisäksi Ijas on aina ollut kiinnostunut esiintymisestä ja ilmaisutaiteesta sekä ryhmädynamiikan taianomaisuudesta, Ijaksen omin sanoin: “musiikin ja taiteen hengittämisestä yhdessä muiden kanssa”.
Ijas on debytoinut kapellimestarina menestyksekkäästi useiden maineikkaiden orkestereiden, kuten Suomen Radion Sinfoniaorkesterin, Turun Filharmonisen Orkesterin, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’n sekä Puolan Radion Sinfoniaorkesterin (NOSPR) kanssa. Kaudella 2023-24 luvassa on mm. Paluu Liverpool Philharmonic’n eteen sekä debyytti Wienin Volksoperissa.
For as long as he can remember, conductor Kaapo Ijas (*1988) has had an insatiable passion for music. Ijas’s diverse musical background shines through in the sheer breadth of his musical interests and the richness of ideas in the many concerts and productions he conducts. He has a particular affinity for the dramatic scope of opera, the seamless union of music and theatre, and the sense of community unique to large-scale productions. In addition to playing and composing, Ijas has always been interested in performance and stage arts too, and he thrives on the magic that group dynamics can bring about – in his own words, “the shared act of breathing art and music”.
Ijas has made successful debuts with many world-class orchestras including Finnish Radio Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Turku Philharmonic, and Polish National Radio SO (NOSPR). This season Ijas will return to Liverpool Philharmonic and make his debut at Volksoper Vienna.
For as long as he can remember, conductor Kaapo Ijas (*1988) has had an insatiable passion for music. Having initially started as a clarinetist, Ijas soon began composing music of his own, and over the intervening years, he has written music in all manner of different genres and has performed with orchestras, bands, and in the pits of many a theatre too.
Ijas’s diverse musical background shines through in the sheer breadth of his musical interests and the richness of ideas in the many concerts and productions he conducts. He has a particular affinity for the dramatic scope of opera, the seamless union of music and theatre, and the sense of community unique to large-scale productions. In addition to playing and composing, Ijas has always been interested in performance and stage arts too, and he thrives on the magic that group dynamics can bring about – in his own words, “the shared act of breathing art and music”.
This thirst for an ever deeper understanding of the fundamentals of music eventually led Kaapo Ijas to begin studying the art of orchestral conducting, first at the Sibelius Academy, then at Zurich University of the Arts, and finally at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where he graduated with a master’s degree in the spring of 2017.
In 2019, Ijas was selected from over 200 applicants and appointed to the position of young conductor (Mills Williams Junior Fellow in Conducting) at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. During the course of this two-year position in England, he also completed an International Artist Diploma.
Before securing the Junior Fellowship, a position that is highly sought-after among young, up-and-coming conductors, he attended numerous international masterclasses where he had the opportunity to study with illustrious maestros including Ricardo Muti, Johannes Schlaefli, Jaap van Zweden, David Zinman, Neeme and Paavo Järvi, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Jorma Panula.
Ijas is a fearless musician who is not afraid of getting his hands dirty: at the very beginning of his conducting studies, he reached the semi-finals of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, after being invited to participate only two weeks in advance. In 2018, Ijas was one of 24 conductors selected from a total of 588 applicants and invited to take part in the Malko Competition in Copenhagen, Denmark. That same year, Ijas took third prize at the Jorma Panula Conducting Competition in Vaasa, Finland.
By all accounts, Ijas has an exciting career development going on, and it can be both seen and heard that his main interest lies in the domain of opera. Both the gestures, with a sensitive vocal accompaniment and an expressive phrasing left hand, as well as the tendency to instill a distinctly dramatic dimension in the musical events spoke of clear operatic instincts. So it was also in Mozart's Jupiter Symphony, which had an extra emotional golden shine in Ijas's hands.Mats Liljeroos, HBL (Kimitö Festspiel 2023, Jyväskylä Sinfonia)
Opera is a great passion of Ijas. Latest productions include Armi (Eeva Kontu, Ilmajoen musiikkijuhlat), Ihmiset Suviyössä (Paavo Korpijaakko, Hämeenkyrön FEStiwaalit), Last Temptations (Joonas Kokkonen, Teatro Productions) and OperaBoxin productions Muumin-opera (Ilkka Kuusisto), L’Heure Espagnole (Maurice Ravel), Le Pauvre Matelot (Darius Milhaud) and Nemuru Otoko (Eetu Ranta-Aho). Ijas has also served as assistant conductor in numerous opera productions, notably Aida (Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm, under chief conductor Pier Giorgio Morandi) and Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (NorrlandsOpera, Umeå, under chief conductor Damian Iorio) and Cunning Little Vixen (RNCM Opera, under chief conductor Nicholas Kok).
Ijas has made successful debuts with many world-class orchestras including Finnish Radio Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Turku Philharmonic, and Polish National Radio SO (NOSPR). Next season Ijas will return to Liverpool Philharmonic and make his debut at Volksoper Vienna.
Kapellimestari Kaapo Ijas (s.1988) on koko elämänsä ajan omistautunut intohimoisesti musiikille. Klarinetistina aloittanut Ijas alkoi jo varhain säveltää omaa musiikkiaan ja hän on vuosien varrella ottanut haltuun useita erilaisia genrejä sekä soittanut orkestereiden ja bändien lisäksi esimerkiksi teatteriyhtyeissä.
Ijaksen laaja-alainen musiikkihistoria näkyy ja kuuluu ennakkoluulottomuutena ja idearikkautena myös hänen johtamissaan produktioissa. Hän rakastaa erityisesti oopperan draamaa, musiikin ja teatterin saumatonta liittoa ja suurten tuotantojen yhteisöllisyyttä. Soittamisen ja säveltämisen lisäksi Ijas on aina ollut kiinnostunut esiintymisestä ja ilmaisutaiteesta sekä ryhmädynamiikan taianomaisuudesta, Ijaksen omin sanoin: “musiikin ja taiteen hengittämisestä yhdessä muiden kanssa”.
Musiikin perinpohjaisen tutkimisen nälkä johti Kaapo Ijaksen kapellimestariopintoihin, ensin Sibelius-akatemiaan, sitten Zürichin taidekorkeakouluun ja lopulta Tukholman Kuninkaalliseen Musiikkikorkeakouluun, josta hän valmistui maisteriksi keväällä 2017. Vuonna 2019 Ijas valittiin yli 200 hakijan joukosta Manchesterin Royal Northern College of Music -konservatorion Mills Williams Junior Fellow in Conducting - “nuoremman kapellimestarin” tehtävään ja hän suoritti kaksi vuotta kestäneen työn ohella Englannissa myös International Artist Diploma -tutkinnon.
Ennen nuorten kapellimestarien tavoittelemaa Junior Fellow -huipputointa hänen opettajinaan kansainvälisillä kapellimestarien mestarikursseilla ovat olleet muun muassa legendaarinen Riccardo Muti, Johannes Schlaefli, Jaap van Zweden, David Zinman, Neeme ja Paavo Järvi, Esa-Pekka Salonen ja Jorma Panula.
Kaikilla mittareilla Ijaksella on käynnissä jännittävä urakehitys ja on selvästi nähtävissä sekä kuultavissa, että hänen mielenkiintonsa on suuntautunut nimenomaan oopperan maailmaan. Herkkä, hienovarainen laulusäestys, ilmaisuvoimainen vasen käsi sekä musiikin tarinallisen ulottuvuuden korostaminen kertovat selkeistä oopperakapellimestarin vaistoista. Näin oli myös Mozartin Jupiter-sinfoniassa, joka sai Ijaksen käsissä erityisen emotionaalisen kultareunuksen.Mats Liljeroos, HBL (Kemiönsaaren Musiikkijuhlat 2023, Jyväskylä Sinfonia)
Ijaksen suuri intohimo on ooppera. Viimeisimpiin produktioihin kuuluu mm. Armi (Eeva Kontu, Ilmajoen musiikkijuhlat), Ihmiset Suviyössä (Paavo Korpijaakko, Hämeenkyrön FEStiwaalit), Viimeiset kiusaukset (Joonas Kokkonen, Teatro Productions) sekä OperaBoxin tuotannot Muumi-ooppera (Ilkka Kuusisto), Espanjalainen hetki (Maurice Ravel), Matruusiparka (Darius Milhaud) sekä Nemuru Otoko (Eetu Ranta-Aho). Ijas on toiminut myös avustava kapellimestarina useissa tuotannoissa, kuten Aïda, (Tukholman kuninkaallinen ooppera, pääkapellimestarina Pier Giorgio Morandi), Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Uumaja, NorrlandsOpera, pääkapellimestarina Damian Iorio) ja Ovela Kettu (RNCM Opera, pääkapellimestarina Nicholas Kok).
Ijas on debytoinut kapellimestarina menestyksekkäästi useiden maineikkaiden orkestereiden, kuten Suomen Radion Sinfoniaorkesterin, Turun Filharmonisen Orkesterin, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’n sekä Puolan Radion Sinfoniaorkesterin (NOSPR) kanssa. Ensi kaudella luvassa on mm. Paluu Liverpool Philharmonic’n eteen sekä debyytti Wienin Volksoperissa.
Season 2023-24
7/6/2024 Ilmajoki
ARMI – Ilmajoen musiikijuhlat
New opera by Eeva Kontu about the legendary designer/powerwoman Armi "Marimekko" Ratia at Ilmajoki Music Festival.
Composer: Eeva Kontu
Libretto: Heta Haanperä
Conductor: Kaapo Ijas
In the cast: Lilli Paasikivi, Pia Komsi, Mari Palo, Jeni Packalén, Minna-Leena Lahti, Nicholas Söderlund, Tuomas Miettola, Aarne Pelkonen and Tuomas Lehtinen.
Performances:
7.6. 18:00
8.6. 13:00
9.6. 13:00
14.6. 13:00
15.6. 13:00
16.6. 13:00
9/3/2024 Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Music to include excerpts from:
Saint-Saëns: Aquarium, Fossils and Elephant from Carnival of the Animals
Debbie Wiseman: Blue Whale and Orangutan from Carnival of the Endangered Animals
Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee
Music from The Lion King
Kaapo Ijas, conductor
Lucy Drever, presenter
Get ready for an animal adventure with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Together, we’ll discover some of the animals of our wonderful world! We’ll dive into the deepest oceans, climb high into the rainforest canopy and meet some of the amazing creatures that call our beautiful planet home.
Family concerts are most suitable for children aged 4-10 years.
Tickets
Adult: £23, £16, £14
Child: £15, £13, £9
8/2/2024 Suomalainan musiikkikampus, Jyväskylä
Ascanio in alba
Mozart sävelsi Ascanio in Alban 14-vuotiaana häälahjaksi Itävallan arkkiherttua Ferdinandille ja Modenan prinsessa Maria Beatrice D’Estelle. Mozart itse nimitti teosta Festa Teatraleksi. Suomalaisen musiikkikampuksen Suomen kantaesityksessä ohjaaja Ville Saukkosen näkemys tuo moderneja vivahteita nostaen esille tarinan opetuksen myös nykyajassa. Rakkaus ja draama heräävät henkiin Kaapo Ijaksen johtaman orkesterin värittäessä musiikillista maisemaa, jossa lampaat elävät yltäkylläistä elämää ja rakkaudenkipeitä nuoria koetellaan.
Esityspäivät helmikuussa 2024:
8.2.2024 klo 19
10.2.2024 klo 15
11.2.2024 klo 15
Oopperan esityskieli on italia, josta näytetään suomenkielinen käännöstekstitys salin kuvaruudulla. Esitykset järjestetään Suomalaisen musiikkikampuksen Siltasalissa (Pitkäkatu 18–22, Jyväskylä).
29/12/2023 Volksoper, Wien
Der Zauberer von Oz
Musical by Harold Arlen
in German language
A whirlwind sweeps Dorothy and her dog Toto into the magical land of Oz. To get back home, Dorothy must find the Wizard of Oz. Together with a scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion, she sets out on her journey. But perhaps in the end help is waiting where you don't expect it and the way home can only be found within yourself.
Henry Mason's production became an audience hit for the whole family at the Volksoper.
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum is probably America's most famous fairy tale, which gained worldwide cult status through the film version with the young Judy Garland (1939). The most famous song from it, Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, won an Oscar in 1940.
Recommended from 6 years
26/12/2023 Volksoper, Wien
Der Zauberer von Oz
Musical by Harold Arlen
in German language
A whirlwind sweeps Dorothy and her dog Toto into the magical land of Oz. To get back home, Dorothy must find the Wizard of Oz. Together with a scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion, she sets out on her journey. But perhaps in the end help is waiting where you don't expect it and the way home can only be found within yourself.
Henry Mason's production became an audience hit for the whole family at the Volksoper.
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum is probably America's most famous fairy tale, which gained worldwide cult status through the film version with the young Judy Garland (1939). The most famous song from it, Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, won an Oscar in 1940.
Recommended from 6 years
15/12/2023 Volksoper, Wien
Der Zauberer von Oz
Musical by Harold Arlen
in German language
A whirlwind sweeps Dorothy and her dog Toto into the magical land of Oz. To get back home, Dorothy must find the Wizard of Oz. Together with a scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion, she sets out on her journey. But perhaps in the end help is waiting where you don't expect it and the way home can only be found within yourself.
Henry Mason's production became an audience hit for the whole family at the Volksoper.
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum is probably America's most famous fairy tale, which gained worldwide cult status through the film version with the young Judy Garland (1939). The most famous song from it, Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, won an Oscar in 1940.
Recommended from 6 years
25/11/2023 Volksoper, Wien
Der Zauberer von Oz
Musical by Harold Arlen
in German language
A whirlwind sweeps Dorothy and her dog Toto into the magical land of Oz. To get back home, Dorothy must find the Wizard of Oz. Together with a scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion, she sets out on her journey. But perhaps in the end help is waiting where you don't expect it and the way home can only be found within yourself.
Henry Mason's production became an audience hit for the whole family at the Volksoper.
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum is probably America's most famous fairy tale, which gained worldwide cult status through the film version with the young Judy Garland (1939). The most famous song from it, Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, won an Oscar in 1940.
Recommended from 6 years
22/10/2023 Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Family concert with Alasdair Malloy.
13/9/2023 Jyväskylä City Theatre
Jyväskylä Sinfonia
Kaapo Ijas, conductor
Joonas Korjus, double bass
Akira Nishimura: East-Asian Fantasy for orchestra
Giovanni Bottesini: Concerto for Double Bass No. 2
Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 44
34 € │ 31 € │ 15 €
29/7/2023 Hämeenkyrö
Ihmiset suviyössä
A brand new opera by Paavo Korpijaakko based on the novel by F.E. Sillanpää.
Stellar cast including Johanna Rusanen, Waltteri Torikka, Tuomas Miettola, Päivi Nisula, Ilkka Hämäläinen, Jani Laaksonen, Tiitus Ylipää, Leila Saari, Niina Ahola, Marko Tuupainen
More info and tickets here!
11/7/2023 Kemiö church, Kemiö
Kemiö Music Festival
Jyväskylä Sinfonia
Kaapo Ijas, kapellimestari
Helena Juntunen, sopraano
Richard Wagner: Siegfried Idyll WWV 103
Richard Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder WWW 91
________________
W. A. Mozart: Sinfonia nro 41 C-duuri KV 551 “Jupiter”
Media
For the full size photos, please contact kaapo.ijas @ gmail.com
Contact
Kaapo is managed by Good Company Artists.
www.goodcompany.se
Maria Dalayman
+46 73 504 82 07
maria.dalayman @ goodcompany.se
Kaapo Ijas
+358 445260788
kaapo.ijas @ gmail.com
Kaapo's projects and studies have been generously supported by:
Code & design by Kaapo Ijas 2022.