Viivi Maria Saarenkylä is a young award-winning accordion artist born in Savonlinna, Finland, in 1993. She got her first accordion at the age of six and started classical accordion studies in the Savonlinna Music Institute. Ten years later she became known in her home country after winning the Finnish championships of entertaining accordion music in 2010. The competition known as Kultainen Harmonikka (the Golden Accordion) was a popular TV show broadcasted live on the
main national channel YLE TV2. The next year she started to study variété-music in Italy with the world famous jazz accordionist Renzo Ruggieri and currently she is also completing a professional diploma in the Pop&Jazz Conservatory of Helsinki.
The recent years Viivi has participated in many international accordion competitions around the world. As her latest achievement she won the 1st price of 39˚Premio internazionale della fisarmonica in Castelfidardo in 2014, which is considered as one of the most prestigious accordion competitions in the world. The year continued successfully. She received the 1st prices in Val Tidone international music competition as well as in Italia Award -competition in Italy. The year later she won the 2nd prices in Coupe Mondiale, Trophée Mondial and China Shenzhen international accordion competition.
The young accordionist has performed in solo as well as a part of several bands and groups in Europe, Japan, Ethiopia etc. Her solo concerts and gigs consists a wide selection of virtuoso music from jazz to tango and from popular music to modern Finnish folk music. Her young drive, northern persistence and joyful nature together on the stage with her blue accordion is a delightful and fascinating experience both for the public and for the musician herself. Viivi Maria Saarenkylä’s first solo accordion CD Carnevale was released in April 2015.
