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About us

The original Snellman Hall was completed in March 1981. Many leading performers in Finland such as the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra have performed regularly at the Snellman Hall.

The long-awaited renovation and expansion of the Snellman Hall began in the early months of 2023. The Music Center Snellman, which will be completed in fall 2024, will provide a modern venue for concerts and other events.


  • To be updated.

  • The Music Center Snellman’s selection of art includes i.e. the following art works:

    Kain Tapper: Luonnon tuntu I (1980)

    A wooden sculpture by Kain Tapper purchased in the early 1980s.

    Tiina Laasonen: Ilma jota hengitän (2024)

    The wooden installation art piece was designed for the raised part of the ceiling in the Music Center’s foyer. The art piece is named after a song by Finnish singer Topi Sorsakoski, it represents breathing – the inhalation and exhalation of air.

    Jaakko Pernu: Spinning too fast (2002)

    Wooden sculpture, K. H. Renlund Museum’s collection.

  • The Music Center Snellman is owned by the City of Kokkola and managed by the Cultural Department of Kokkola. The Music Center is a venue for concerts, meetings and other events.

    The Music Center Snellman aspires to create distinctive cultural services, encounters and wellbeing of the highest quality and standards in a responsible and equal manner. We implement the gems of the Kokkola City strategy, which are experiences, child-friendliness and entrepreneurial friendliness.

    We believe that by investing in an excellent customer experience, staff and corporate culture, we can create success and make Music Centre Snellman the most valued brand in the event industry in our region.

    Values and responsibility

    Our priorities and guidelines are comfort, responsibility, child-friendliness, experiences and accessibility. We care about creating a high-quality concert experience, which means that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy musical and cultural performances in an accessible way and without interference. We also care about nature, people and our community. We are a responsible player, who wants to reduce paper waste, for example, by means of digital bulletin boards. The aim is to move away from program leaflets and other printed materials, as soon as possible.

    We aim to boldly be the leading music venue in our region and also an important concert organizer on a national level. At the same time, we want to develop and grow, become more diverse and international, inspire and surprise, and create distinctive programs and content that our customers can enjoy.

  • The Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra (founded in 1972) is one of the best-known Finnish orchestras internationally. The orchestra has established an ambitious profile marked by a dynamic, quick-to-react sound and a repertoire stretching from the Baroque to the present day. Swedish violinist Malin Broman, a renowned soloist, chamber musician and music director, has been the orchestra’s Artistic Director since 2019. The Snellman Hall serves as the home of the Ostrobothnina Chamber Ochestra.

    www.kamariorkesteri.fi

  • The concert halls of the Music Center are named after J.V. Snellmanin and Erik and Anna-Lisa Fordell.

    Johan Vilhelm Snellman

    J.V. Snellman (12.5.1806–4.7.1881) was a Finnish philosopher, writer, journalist and politician. He was one of the most influential promoters of Finnish nationalism and an important figure in the movement to establish Finnish as a national language and e.g. in the introduction of Finland’s own currency, the markka. Snellman is considered as the national philosopher of Finland and the father of Finnish culture.

    Snellman’s family moved to the Finnish coastal town of Kokkola in 1809 and he lived in Kokkola from 1813-1816.

    Erik and Anna-Lisa Fordell

    Director musices Erik Fritiof Fordellin (2.7.1917-21.12.1981), born in Kokkola, was a great underrated Finnish composers. He composed, among other things, 44 symphonies, concertos, solo numbers and choral works.

    His wife Anna-Lisa Jansson (1914-2000), born in Teerijärvi, was a violin teacher and music pedagogue. They were influential in Kokkola for a long time and were prominent figures in the city‘s music scene.

    The Fordell’s have donated their considerable music–related estate and book collection to the Kokkola City Library. The Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra has recorded many of Erik Fordell‘s works, and Juha Kangas, the honorary conductor of the Chamber Orchestra is a former violin student of Anna–Lisa Fordell.