Ms. Sanna Valvanne, the founding director of the Sing & Shine Choirs, and the Artistic Director of the 2017 Tampere Vocal Festival, is one of the most international and innovative Finnish choir conductors. She is recognised worldwide for her creative and expressive choral method Sing and Shine With Body And Soul. A former singer and vocal trainer of the world famous Tapiola Choir, Ms. Valvanne created the method in 1994, while studying for the Master’s Degree in Music at the Sibelius Academy. She has since been a popular guest conductor and clinician with hundreds of choirs and festivals around the world.
For 11 years in the USA, Ms. Valvanne developed her choral work further and supported social change through working with El Sistema based music programmes, finally launching her own choir organisation Sing & Shine Choirs in Espoo, Finland, in 2016, to provide creative, community-oriented and empowering choral training for all ages in the Helsinki Capital area. Since then the Sing & Shine Choirs have engaged hundreds of people in training, performances and community projects bringing different generations and cultures together to sing. In addition to regular concerts, Ms. Valvanne and her choirs have performed on popular Finnish Television programs, national and international festivals, and toured in the USA, India, Italy and Kenya.
Whether with her own choirs or guest conducting, Ms. Valvanne continues to expand the boundaries of choral expression, and explore new ways of sharing love and joy through singing.
