KALEVALA is the national epic of Finland. It is a collection of folk poems, which were collected and adapted by the linguist and folklorist Elias Lönnrot in the 19th century. The poems themselves may date back more than 2000 years, after which time they were developed and maintained as oral tradition and passed down the generations through song.

The epic tells the story of the people of Kalevala, the adventures of their heroes (yet who are so humanly flawed that they remain far from being unambiguously heroic), and the warfare of Kalevala with its most powerful enemy, the mighty Witch of the North, Pohjan akka. During the concert the story will be partly narrated IN POLISH and partly sung with ancient melodies in the original Finnish.

Kalevala will be presented by PAULA WOLSKI - a Finnish singer and language teacher who has been organizing presentations of Kalevala for the past few years. She also and also plays concerts where folk, country and bluegrass mix with old Finnish traditions.