Candomino
The Candomino choir is a youth choir from Espoo, Finland. It was founded in 1967 by organist and conductor Tauno Satomaa, who conducted Candomino until 2005. Since then, Esko Kallio has been both the conductor and the musical director of the choir. Candomino consists of 30 young singers. Candomino has triumphed in both international and national choir competitions by performing a broad repertoire of music, ranging from pieces from the Renaissance period to contemporary music. The choir’s latest rankings in choir competitions are the 2nd prize in the chamber choir category at Tallinn’s international choir competition in 2019 and two golden stamps acquired from the Tampere Music Festival in 2019. The choir has a discography of over 20 albums, and it has performed many premiere concerts of the works written by Finnish composers. In 2014, Candomino was chosen as the youth choir of the year by YLE, the national broadcasting company of Finland.
The Conductor Esko Kallio
Esko Kallio (b. 1974, M. Mus.) began playing the piano at the age of five at the Espoo Music School (nowadays called the Music Institute Juvenalia). In 2004, Kallio completed his degree in Choral Conducting at the Sibelius Academy with distinction, after which he has continued to hone his skills in various master classes in Finland and abroad. Kallio received the Young Conductor’s Award in the International Leevi Madetoja Male Voice Choir Competition in 2000 and the Young Conductor’s Prize at the Tampere Vocal Music Festival in 2003. In 2015, he was chosen as the Conductor of the Year by The Finnish Choral Directors’ Association.
Esko Kallio has worked with and conducted numerous professional and amateur choirs both in Finland and abroad. Contemporary choir music from the 2000s has been a particularly prominent feature in his repertoire, and his interpretations of musical works by composers of his own generation have won him critical acclaim. Mr. Kallio has also taught choir conducting at the Sibelius Academy and in various master classes, for instance at The Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. In addition to Candomino, Kallio is the conductor of the Helsinki-based choirs Spira Ensemble and Suomen Laulu.
CandoMini
CandoMini was founded in 2013 and consists of 35 singers between the ages of 10 and 17. CandoMini is conducted by Anna Sandström. The choir has triumphed in many choir competitions. CandoMini won the golden stamps at the Canta Al Mar choir festival in Spain in 2016, the golden stamp and the special prize for children’s choirs at the Tampere Vocal Music festival in 2017, and both the children choirs’ category and the Grand Prix at the Claudio Monteverdi International Choral Competition in Venice in 2018. In addition to competing, CandoMini has performed around Finland and recorded two cd’s: Tuike (a christmas music album) in 2019 and Sammumaton (a sacral music album) in 2023.
The Conductor Anna Sandström
Anna Sandström (b. 1989) graduated with a master’s degree in music from the music education subject group of the Sibelius Academy and deepened her studies in choral conducting and vocal pedagogy. She has also studied singing at Stockholm’s Royal Academy of Music and supplemented her education with master classes. Sandström works especially with children’s and youth choirs. She has been a member of the teaching staff of the Cantores Minores boy’s choir since 2010 and the teaching staff of the Helsinki Conservatory since 2020.
CaMinus
CaMinus is aimed at singers between the ages of 7 and 13. Founded in 2016, the singing group introduce children to choral singing and teach vocal techniques through play and functional exercises. Children without any musical background can join to the choir but it is also aimed for young singers who have some musical background and aspire to join CandoMini. The CaMinus choir cooperate actively with CandoMini and perform annually with other choirs of the association.
The Conductor Liisalotta Lepistö
Liisalotta Lepistö (b. 1998) graduated with a master’s degree in music from the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki. She is the cantor of the Vuosaari parish and works as a choir conductor in the capital area. Lepistö sang in the Candomino choir in years 2017-18 and has led CaMinus since 2020.
