Wilho Saari

Wilho F. Saari (July 7, 1932 – January 19, 2022) was a Finnish American player of the kantele, the Finnish psaltery. Kreeta Haapasalo, a well-known kantele player in Finland in the 19th century, was his great-great grandmother.[1][2] Wilho's father, Wilho Sr., also performed the kantele in public, only in Washington, having brought a kantele with him to America in 1915.[2][3]

Wilho Saari performs on the kantele during the 2006 NEA National Heritage Fellows concert.

In 2005, Washington's governor, Christine Gregoire, awarded Saari the Governor's Heritage Award for his work popularizing and teaching the kantele. Wilho Saari is a resident of Naselle, Washington. In 2006, Saari was one of ten recipients of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) award of a National Heritage Fellowship, the country's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.[1][4]

Saari both taught and performed around the country. In Astoria, Oregon and Naselle, Washington he performed at FinnFest USA '06, an annual national festival, where he participated in the world premiere of a Kantele Mass composed by Jarkko Yli-Annala.

Saari was married for over 50 years to his "Roadie" Kaisa, of Kuopio, Finland. Together, they had two children. Saari also had six grandchildren. He died on January 19, 2022, at the age of 89.[5]

References
  1. Zimmerman, Cathy (October 17, 2006). "The Finnish Storyteller". Longview Daily News. Longview, WA. pp. D1, D3. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. "Wilho Saari". Portland Press Herald. Portland, ME. August 12, 2007. p. 128. Retrieved December 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. "Wilho Saari: Finnish kantele player". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. n.d. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  4. "NEA National Heritage Fellowships 2006". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Archived from the original on May 21, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  5. "Wilho F. Saari". Penttila's Chapel by the Sea. Retrieved 6 November 2022.


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