Conductors
 

Chief Conductor

Captain (mus.) Juhani Valtasalmi 

 

Captain (mus.) Juhani Valtasalmi (born in 1978) started in the post of the Senior Conductor of the Lapland Military Band on 1 March 2024. His previous posts were with the Conscript Band of the Defence Forces, first as the conductor for three years and since 2021 as the Senior Conductor.

Valtasalmi completed his MA degree in the Sibelius Academy in 2016, majoring in wind orchestra conducting. His teachers include  Peter Ettrup Larsen, Atso Almila and Petri Komulainen, among others. Valtasalmi has received further training in conducting on courses led by Jorma Panula, for example.

Valtasalmi has also studied arranging music for different kinds of ensembles under instruction from composer Vladimir Agopov.

In 2007-2013, Valtasami worked as a clarinetist in the Armour Band in Hämeenlinna, and from the Autumn of 2013 in the Navy Band in Turku, before starting as conductor in the Conscript Band of the Defence Forces. He received the degree in music pedagogy from Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia in 2006, with clarinet as his major.

Valtasalmi has held various positions of trust. Currently, he is a a board member of the Finnish Wind Band Association.