The baroque concert was canceled at school because of religious reasons

In Uusimaa the baroque concert planned for this week at the elementary school in The organizers of the concert told about it.

It was a joint performance of the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and the Helsinki Chamber Choir, where the intention was to hear a baroque composer Georg Friedrich Handelin Messiah– oratorio.

However, the school canceled the concert intended for students just a couple of days before the performance scheduled for Wednesday. According to the organizers, the reason was the religious references in the music. The text of the Messiah is based on the Bible and tells the life of Jesus.

Atmosphere the chamber choir and the baroque orchestra are shocked by the decision, says the executive director of the baroque orchestra Laura Kajander.

“We are completely out of the tree.”

According to Kajander, this is the first time that the orchestra’s concert was canceled because of religious references in the music.

Concerts have been offered to schools for free as part of the Lähle project funded by a grant. The purpose of the project in question is to take high-quality art to schools and libraries for free. In addition, the project offers traditional evening concert performances in other performance spaces.

The concert the resigned principal does not want to comment on the matter to HS. However, he says that they did not know about the content of the concert in advance.

Baroque music is Western art music composed in the 17th and early 18th centuries, which has traditionally also been inspired by Christian themes. The project producer of the chamber choir and baroque orchestra has agreed with the schools for the concert, says Kajander.

Organizers believe that the reason behind the cancellation is the recently reported case from Hämeenlinna.

There, the city is recommended to pay a compensation of 1,500 euros for the discrimination of a non-religious elementary school student. In 2022, the concert performed for elementary school children featured religious songs, the subjects of which, according to the applicant for compensation, were death, crucifixion and the atonement of sins through Christianity, among other things.

The October decision of the Equality and Equality Board was the first of its kind. The special expert of the Office of the Equality Commissioner said To Ylethat contacts related to religion have increased fivefold in five years.

Replacement According to Kajander, organizing cultural activities of the same level is difficult. In the case of baroque music, it would mean reproducing the repertoire.

Kajander hopes that the incident will not cause widespread panic in other schools. The baroque orchestra and chamber choir have committed to the project for three years. Tours to Finnish schools are made twice a year.

“If concerts are cancelled, the victims are the children,” says Kajander.

He says he is worried about art education and the sharing of cultural heritage, especially now that the government is cutting back on culture.

“If, in addition to surgeries, you have to fear what kind of culture can be implemented, the concern is great.”

Correction 8.11. at 9:21 p.m.: The expert interviewed by Yle is a special expert of the Office of the Equality Commissioner, not a special expert of the Equality and Equality Board, as was erroneously stated earlier in the story.