World Music School (WMS) Open Mic at the Helsinki Open Waves is a live show, moderated by Pedro Aibéo, chairman of the WMS at the Helsinki Open Waves in Caisa. Every 4th Wednesday of the month at 16:00 Finnish time.
The show invites musicians to talk about their work and lives and play live music. The goal is to promote local artists, preferably from foreign backgrounds and around world music. The interview is done in different languages (EN, PT, DE, ES, FR).
Ilkka Heinonen is a Helsinki-based musician and composer specialising in folk and world music, playing the jouhikko, double bass,violone,e and viola da gamba - with a passion for early music. As one of the pioneers of jouhikko playing, Heinonen has sought to expand the possibilities of the instrument. In his solo programmes, Heinonen explores the boundaries between the sacred and the secular through the performance practices of Karelian jouhikko music and early music, as on his solo instrumental album Käki (2023), which explores the sound of the instrument in depth. The Ilkka Heinonen Trio, which has released two critically acclaimed albums (Savu 2015 and Lohtu 2021), draws its experimental sound from European jazz and Renaissance music alike. Heinonen has also premiered all the concertos composed for the jouhikko so far (comp. Timothy Page 2013, Krishna Nagaraja 2017).
Heinonen plays the jouhikko in Ensemble Gamut!, which combines elements of medieval music, Finnish folk songs, improvisation and electronic soundscapes. The ensemble's unique sound can be heard in concerts and on the albums UT(2020), RE (2022), and Mi (2025). Sámi singer Ánnámáret's band has taken Heinonen deep into the world of ancient luohtis, contemporary music and electronically manipulated jouhikko sounds, as in the albums Nieguid Duovdagat (2021) and Bálvvosbáiki (2024). Heinonen has also performed with jouhikko quartet Jouhiorkesteri in numerous countries from Europe to Asia.
Ilkka Heinonen is active as a double bassist and G-violone player in baroque ensembles and performs especially in Nordic and Eastern European folk music ensembles. Heinonen also works regularly with contemporary dance and music theatre.
Heinonen is currently completing his artistic doctorate on the expressive possibilities of the jouhikko at the Sibelius Academy’s MuTri doctoral programme.
Credits
Producer and host: Pedro Aibéo
Guest: Ilkka Heinonen
Sound recording, editing and live streaming: Bailey Polkinghorne
*The audio piece was recorded and edited at the Helsinki Open Waves performance & recording room located at Caisa.
**The views expressed in this audio piece and texts are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the view of Helsinki Open Waves.
***If you have any feedback regarding the content of the podcast, please contact us via helsinkiopenwaves@gmail.com