Description
Sat 12 Dec 2026 17:00
Espoo Cultural Centre, Tapiola Hall
Lippu.fi €29.90/90 + booking fee
Wed 16 Dec 2026 18:00
Art Factory Porvoo
€8‑25 + booking fee
Fri 18 Dec 2026 18:00 and 20:30
Temppeliaukio Church Helsinki
Ticketmaster €15‑37 + booking fee
Duration approx. 70 min, no intermission.
A long‑awaited wish! The enchanting Christmas jazz tale Pähkinänsärkijä, which sold out two venues last year, returns! Storyteller Anna Airola, music by UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra. Concerts at Porvoo Art Factory, Espoo Cultural Centre and Helsinki’s Temppeliaukio Church.
UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra performs the Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn jazz arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Pähkinänsärkijä Christmas classic. Beloved actress Anna Airola brings the story to life and reads, alongside the music, the fairy‑tale by E. T. A. Hoffman about the nutcracker and the mouse king’s Christmas Eve adventure.
Sparkling winter forests, an enchanted marzipan castle, toys that come to life… Pähkinänsärkijä is full of fairy‑tale magic and thrilling twists! The plot of Pähkinänsärkijä, one of Tchaikovsky’s most famous and esteemed ballets, is based on E. T. A. Hoffman’s Christmas story. The ballet premiered at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre in December 1892. Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn wrote and recorded a distinctive jazz version of the work in 1960. In recent years the jazz arrangement has become a UMO Christmas tradition, now flavored with storytelling.
Dive into the fairy‑tale – and jazz – celebration!
It is not strictly a children’s concert, but it is suitable for the whole family. Especially with the youngest attendees we recommend being prepared for high volume levels. Doors open 30 minutes before the concert starts. Duration approx. 70 min, no intermission.
“Clearly the most wonderful concert experience of the year. My soul sang. Absolutely incredible!” Customer feedback
“This Christmas concert made an impression. People seek experiences, we delivered one. Thank you!” Customer feedback
Anna Airola (born 1994) is a popular and award‑winning actress from Kokkola. Graduating from the Theatre Academy in 2022, Airola was chosen as Television Actor of the Year and received the Golden Venla for her role as Oona in Yle’s series Aikuiset. Raised in a musical family, Airola sings with the Ykspihlaja cinema orchestra and also has experience playing the tenor horn.