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» Mr.Zelo Home » Short History » Teaching » Recordings » Poems » Eternal » Contact Information » Pictures		Harri "Mr. Zelo" Sissala's musical background stands out due to an exceptionally broad range of styles, an academic education in social sciences, and a varied career path outside of music. Unlike artists who have chosen solely a classical education or a specific genre of popular music, Sissala has moved with exceptional flexibility between completely different musical worlds: ∗ Versatile musical range: He began his career studying classical violin (under instructors such as Matti Piipponen and Lajos Garam) and playing in the Hämeenlinna City Orchestra as well as the Vantaa Orchestra. At the same time, in the late 1960s, he founded the pop group Eternal, represented Finland at the Havana Youth Festival in 1978 with the fusion folk music ensemble Peuhu − introducing Finnish folk instruments on Cuban television − and later immersed himself in Hungarian violin music as well as the blues (Soul-Sissala). ∗ Academic background in social sciences: Alongside his career as an orchestral and band musician, Sissala earned an academic degree from the University of Tampere, where he studied music alongside social sciences, graduating in 1979. ∗ Career paths outside music: Before his academic studies, he stepped back from the daily life of a working musician to work as a carpenter in Sweden and as a print shop warehouse worker in Hämeenlinna, among other jobs. This combination of classical precision, folk music, pop/blues expression, and a background in social sciences has given him an exceptionally broad and original approach to music. Kari Korpinen musician

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Harri "Mr. Zelo" Sissala's musical background stands out due to an exceptionally broad range of styles, an academic education in social sciences, and a varied career path outside of music.

Unlike artists who have chosen solely a classical education or a specific genre of popular music, Sissala has moved with exceptional flexibility between completely different musical worlds:

∗ Versatile musical range: He began his career studying classical violin (under instructors such as Matti Piipponen and Lajos Garam) and playing in the Hämeenlinna City Orchestra as well as the Vantaa Orchestra. At the same time, in the late 1960s, he founded the pop group Eternal, represented Finland at the Havana Youth Festival in 1978 with the fusion folk music ensemble Peuhu − introducing Finnish folk instruments on Cuban television − and later immersed himself in Hungarian violin music as well as the blues (Soul-Sissala).

∗ Academic background in social sciences: Alongside his career as an orchestral and band musician, Sissala earned an academic degree from the University of Tampere, where he studied music alongside social sciences, graduating in 1979.

∗ Career paths outside music: Before his academic studies, he stepped back from the daily life of a working musician to work as a carpenter in Sweden and as a print shop warehouse worker in Hämeenlinna, among other jobs.

This combination of classical precision, folk music, pop/blues expression, and a background in social sciences has given him an exceptionally broad and original approach to music.

Kari Korpinen
musician