AVANTI! CHAMBER ORCHESTRA , a contemporary music ensemble.
This group began in 1981 as a student organization to play new compositions, founded by conductors Esa-Pekka Salonen and Jukka-Pekka Saraste. Today the members are concertmasters and section leaders of prominent orchestras in Finland and abroad. Since 1994 the artistic director has been the Finnish cellist, Anssi Karttunen (see KARTTUNEN, ANSSI). The group is assembled for each concert and may include 2–60 players, adapting to whatever...