Seminaarinmäen mieslaulajat (literally translated as "Men's Choir of Seminaarinmäki"), better known as ''Semmarit'', is a male choir from

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Formed in 1989, the group is known for shunning traditional male choir music, instead singing choir music heavily influenced by

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

. Imaginative

props A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

and comedic choreography are also an integral part of their shows. All songs are composed and regularly polled amongst the group members. Although a primarily vocal-only arrangement, the songs occasionally have an instrumental accompaniment. Instruments the group has used include the djembe, the didgeridoo, the

kazoo The kazoo is an American musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifie ...

, the bagpipes, a

toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popu ...

lid, a

zipper A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and other bags, camping ...

in the fly of their trousers, and water-filled

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

bottles to imitate a

pan flute A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...

. Some group members also physically use their colleagues as

air guitar Air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play an imaginary rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar, including riffs and solos. Playing an air guitar usually consists of exaggerated strumming and picking m ...

s for playing "instrumental" solos. Most of the singers are academically trained, singing non-professionally. The group doesn't perform often, and most concerts take place on annual tours. Seminaarinmäen mieslaulajat has toured in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, Sweden,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Switzerland,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and China. In 1996-1997, they embarked on a sold-out tour in Finland with a symphony orchestra conducted by

Atso Almila Atso Almila (born 13 June 1953, in Helsinki 1) is a Finnish orchestral conductor, music director, composer, trombonist and teacher. He has worked with most Finnish orchestras as a guest conductor or otherwise. Though he primarily operates in Finlan ...

. The group consists of 17 singers and conductor Reima Viitala. Their

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...

and sound technicians are so essential to the shows that they are considered to be members of the group.

Personnel

*Choir leader: Reima Viitala *1st

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

s: Turkka Saarikoski, Mikko Miettinen, Pasi Pohjola, and Pasi "''Paatu''" Niemelä *2nd tenors: Janne Kettunen, Jussi Oksala, Juha "''Julle''" Ikola, and Hannu Sompinmäki *1st bass: Markus Paananen, Juha "''Juffe''" Rouvala, Hannu Moilanen, and Kari-Pekka Kaskismaa *2nd bass: Juho-Kusti "''Uski''" Väätäinen, Jyrki Vihriälä, Joel Linna, Markus Kinnunen, and Tuomas Jauhiainen. *Crew: Timo Ilmonen, Risto Ronkainen, Tuomas Käppi

Discography

*''Kuka on tuo mies'' (Who Is That Man) (1993) *''Ruohonjuuritasolla'' (Down-to-Earth) (1995) *''Sampo Texas'' (Sampo Texas) (1996) *''Ukkokiekuu'' (Mancrow) (1998) *''Hakkaan sun ovee'' (Beating Your Door) (2001) *''Wunderbaum'' (Wunderbaum) (2004) *''Laulut ja Tarinat'' (Songs and Stories) (2007) *''Filminauhaa'' (Filmreel) (DVD, 2005) *''20 - Kokoelma'' (2009) *''Suuntaamme Avaruuteen Live'' (Heading Into Space Live) (2009) *''Picchu Macho'' (2013) *''Life Is a Highway'' (2014) *''Hullun hommaa'' (2016)

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seminaarinmaen mieslaulajat A cappella musical groups Finnish musical groups