Finnish women creative artists have played a critical role in Finnish culture. From the years leading to Finland’s independence to the present day, women musicians, poets, and muses have been at the forefront of maintaining tradition and creating change. This presentation focuses on the significance of women’s creative leadership in Finland, and the role Finnish women creative artists have played in anchoring national identity through times of political crisis and transition. These artists include performers, entrepreneurs, composers, and muses such as L. Onerva, Ida Ekman, Aino Ackté, Kaija Saariaho, Cecilia Damström, and Out Tarkiainen. I will speak about these and other artists, and perform some songs illustrating their work. Please join me in learning more about Finnish women whose artistic and creative leadership deserves to be better known and acknowledged.

Presenter Bio: Mimmi Fulmer performs repertoire from early music to works written for her. She has appeared as soloist at the Aspen Music Festival and Kennedy Center, and her career includes premieres of nine opera roles.

The granddaughter of immigrants from Finland and Sweden, Ms. Fulmer is an advocate for bringing Nordic songs to American singers. She has presented programs of Nordic repertoire throughout the US, and is the editor of Midnight Sun, a three-volume anthology of songs from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark published by Subito Music. Her article, “Finnish Songs for American College-Age Singers” was published in the November/December 2022 Journal of Singing

She has recorded with the Centaur, Albany, Innova, and CRI labels. Her CD, About Time, was called “a gratifying testimony to …composers in America” by Opera News online.

In addition to her Nordic song anthology, Ms. Fulmer’s publications include a book and engraved score of “Vision and Prayer” by Milton Babbitt (Subito Music).

Recent performances featuring Nordic repertoire include recitals at Northern Michigan University, the University of Tampa, and the Mindekirken in Minneapolis, as well as lecture-recitals at Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study conferences in Austin and Seattle and at the International College Music Society conference in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Ms. Fulmer is Professor of Voice and Opera at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her students are enjoying success singing at the Metropolitan Opera, on Broadway, and as educators at schools and universities.