Presenting our musicians: Hanna Pakkala
Musician interview 15.9.2026
FiBOn alttoviulujäsenen Hanna Pakkalan elämään kuuluu orkesterisoittamisen ohella muun muassa taiteidenvälisiä projekteja, opettamista, ääni- ja energiahoitoja ja kissoja. Alttoviulistin erikoiskyvyn lisäksi hänellä on myös muita jännempiä taitoja...
Name
Hanna Pakkala
Instrument
Viola
Short introduction
Alongside the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, I occasionally perform with other Finnish orchestras and with Guts! String Quartet. I also work on interdisciplinary projects, including Taivo – An Acrobatic Concert, and teach as a part-time lecturer at the Sibelius Academy. In addition, I offer sound and energy healing sessions and perform meditative Bach concerts. I also enjoy petting cats and swimming.
Tell us about yourself.
When I was three, I wanted to follow my cousin to violin lessons, and I ended up studying with Mauno Järvelä at the Perhonjokilaakso Adult Education Centre. And that’s where it all began. There was always singing and playing music at home, and I also have several professional musicians among my cousins.
How did you end up playing your instrument? Who or what made the choice?
I started on the violin, inspired by the cousin mentioned above, but switched to the viola as a teenager, when the panels assessing my music school exams suggested it as an option for a player with long limbs. When I drew my first sounds from the low C string, I was hooked.
What inspires you as a musician – and in life more generally?
Interaction, vitality, and the combination of performance and sound in different forms, as well as the healing effect of experiencing holistic expression. I’m especially inspired by those moments when I get to witness someone – a member of the audience, a student, or a sound-healing client – being touched by something in an unexpected way, having an insight, or experiencing what it means to be truly seen or heard.
Which other art form is closest to your heart?
The performing arts. I also enjoy reading and drawing myself.
What is your greatest musical dream?
At the moment, my most immediate goal is to get my already-recorded solo Bach album released – and then move on to planning the next one!
What is your favourite travel destination and why?
Lapland! It always creates a sense of space and room to simply be.
What kind of place allows your soul to rest?
In nature – by the sea, on a fell – or simply while petting cats.
How do you feel your work in the arts has a broader impact on society?
Every moment anyone spends pausing to listen to something that is happening right here and now is valuable. And speaking of musical dreams, making these experiences available in different forms also to people who might not otherwise find their way to concert halls or churches is both a personal dream of mine and a way of making a broader impact on society.
Why do you find it meaningful to perform music that is more than 300 years old?
The world has changed, but perhaps people have changed less than we think: the intensification and release of harmonic tension still create the same movements in us, even on a purely physical level, and I find that fascinating. And besides, there is just so much incredibly beautiful music!
Choose your favourite from FiBO’s autumn 2026 concert programme and explain your choice.
The September concert in the Residency Series at the House of Nobility, Riddarhuset 400 år: En saga, simply because I get to perform Sibelius’s En saga in its chamber ensemble version on a Baroque viola! Plus, of course, the ensemble is full of wonderful colleagues, and the programme as a whole is excellent.
Do you have a “secret” special skill?
My secret special skill – apart from the classic “empty” stare of a bassist and violist – is that I can move just my left eye while keeping the right one completely still…
If you had to either run the Cooper test or bake treats for a party of 30, which would you choose?
Without the slightest hesitation, the Cooper test! If an explanation is needed, it’s simply because the Cooper test is over in 12 minutes…