New NOMU project – new notes/works in 5 grades from the nordic countries for the nordic orchestras – this time FINNISH WIND BAND MUSIC
NOMU – the Nordic Orchestra Music Union – presents Nordic wind band
repertoire on the first Saturday of every month. We invite conductors to
discover new Nordic music, showcase our composers, and inspire the continued creation of repertoire across the region.
This spring, we will share exciting suggestions to bring fresh sounds and
new ideas to bands everywhere – and ensure Nordic music gets the spotlight it deserves.
This time, the focus is on Finland. Explore fresh and inspiring Finnish works
— and discover new pieces for your ensemble’s repertoire
Grade 1
Timo Forström: Lucky Boy
Duration: 2´10
One can have real full-bodied musical repertoire even
with modest playing skills. Lucky Boy encourages the
aspiring musician to develop oneself as well as creates
faith in the listeners. Lucky Boy is downright playable
already by a musician with only six months of musical
experience with one’s instrument.
Publisher: Blosari
https://www.blosari.com/blosari/product/lucky-boy-onnenpoika/
YouTube:
Grade 2
Jukka Viitasaari: The School Detective
Duration: 2´30
The ever-vigilant hall monitor, always on patrol for delinquents running amok, needs a secret assistant in tough times like this. That’s where the School Detective comes
in! Navigate through winding chromatic passages set to groovy ostinati and drum fills.
Publisher: Alfred
https://www.alfred.com/school-detective/p/00-PK-0007587/
YouTube:
Read more – see more works in grade 3, 4 and 5:
Grade 3
Janne Ikonen: Baila!
Duration: 4´
Here come the modern dance-beat! Skillfully written youth orchestra favourite.
Publisher: Blosari
https://www.blosari.com/blosari/product/baila/
YouTube:
Grade 4
Lauri Porra: Near and Distant
Duration: 10´
Finnish National Wind Band Competition 2017: test piece
in Series A.
Porra, Lauri (born 13 December 1977) is a Finnish bass guitarist and a composer who has written scores for films and other media, as well as commissions from orchestras
such as the Lahti Symphony and the Finnish Radio Symphony. He is also known for his work as the bass guitarist in the Finnish power metal band Stratovarius. Porra is a fourth generation musician, and the great-grandson of famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
Publisher: SPOL
https://holvi.com/shop/finnbandshop/product/a099db4c1c35750760a580b37d375be3/
Youtube:
Grade 5
Aulis Sallinen: The Palace Rhapsody
Duration: 16´
The Palace, which is Sallinen’s fifth opera, composed in the early 1990s. The Palace was commissioned by the Savonlinna Opera Festival. The opera main subject is a
satire on the collapse of a corrupt regime.
A couple of years later came Palatsirapsodia (The Palace Rhapsody), based on themes from the opera. It was commissioned by the Royal Northern College of Music
and is in the style of the Harmoniemusik arrangements of 18th century operas.
Publisher: Novello & Co
YouTube:
PDF-link to this article:
file:///C:/Users/Bruger/Desktop/NOMU%20Finnish%20Wind%20Band%20Music%201.2.2026.pdf
Text: Sami Ruusuvuori (FI)
Upload: 1.2.2026