Teacher

Aittakumpu Reijo

I am Reijo Aittakumpu, a music teacher and choir director from Helsinki. I have worked with learners of all ages and at all levels from preschool to upper secondary school and from adult education to the Sibelius Academy. However, my main work has been in upper secondary schools for 30 years, first. at Kallio Expression Upper Secondary School, then at Sibelius Upper Secondary School. My great passion is vocal music: I have sung in choirs for decades and conducted many different choirs. Throughout my career, I have been interested in studying the development of singing skills, especially in singers for whom staying in tune is not a given. Although the name of my course mentions singing incompetence, I do not really believe that anyone is singing incompetent. For decades, I have developed pedagogy specifically for beginner singers and I have seen in my work that singing can become a joyful part of life through teaching and practice, no matter how difficult it may have seemed before.