Jukka Viitasaari
Jukka Viitasaari (aka "Viitasaurus") comes from the Finnish Ostrobothnian village of Kuortane, the birthplace of several other important Finnish musical and cultural figures. He is from a family of active musicians, and his musical experiences are eclectic. He has performed with brass bands, wind bands, and, true to his generation, big bands and rock bands.
Originally trained as a school teacher, Viitasaari has had many decades of
success as a composer for wind bands, including many clever and
successful pieces for elementary level groups. He has been awarded seven Finnish and fourteen international band composition contest prizes to date. He is also a member of the Wasbe board of directors (2019-2025).
Viitasaari has more than sixty works published in Finland and several others in the U.S. by TRN Music Publisher, BRS-Music, Potenza Music, Leading Tones Music, and most notably Grand Mesa Music and Alfred Music. A word from his mentor, Paul Niemisto, Professor of Music (ret.) at St. Olaf College:
"Jukka Viitasaari is an unique voice in
Finnish band music in that he strives to incorporate rock, jazz and old
traditional folk music idioms into modern formats."
Originally trained as a school teacher, Viitasaari has had many decades of
success as a composer for wind bands, including many clever and
successful pieces for elementary level groups. He has been awarded seven Finnish and fourteen international band composition contest prizes to date. He is also a member of the Wasbe board of directors (2019-2025).
Viitasaari has more than sixty works published in Finland and several others in the U.S. by TRN Music Publisher, BRS-Music, Potenza Music, Leading Tones Music, and most notably Grand Mesa Music and Alfred Music. A word from his mentor, Paul Niemisto, Professor of Music (ret.) at St. Olaf College:
"Jukka Viitasaari is an unique voice in
Finnish band music in that he strives to incorporate rock, jazz and old
traditional folk music idioms into modern formats."