a similar artist, Tatu Pekkarinen, came on tour, with Matti Jurva as his accompanist. In a return to more serious music, one of the most significant tours was made by operatic soprano Maikki Järnefelt and her composer husband Selim Palmgren, and following one of their concerts the Minneapolis Journal reported (13 April 1921) that "hardly has Finland achieved a position of complete freedom and independence among nations than the foremost representatives of her music are already among us, to give us a good impression of one of the youngest and most gifted of peoples. Every nation speaks most sincerely through its music, but few so deeply as Finland. The concert confirmed Maikki Järnefelt as the ambassadress of her country's song, and in listening to Selim Palmgren every music lover had to forget any other artists who had performed in our state before, with the possible exception of Rachmaninoff." Other artists who have appeared have been Aapo Similä (1939), soprano Kerttu Siukonen, Sylvia Backman, opera singer Kalle Ruusunen (1948), violinist Kerttu Vanne and her accompanist Astrid Joutseno, and Martti Jalava.

Two Finnish choruses have also appeared with great success. The first was the YL, the Helsinki University Chorus, which made its first tour of the United States in 1938, appearing in Duluth in January of that year and giving a concert at the Duluth Armory before an audience of 2,000. This chorus, under the direction of Martti Turunen, won glowing reviews in the American press. In 1953 the YL made a second tour (appearing in Duluth in November) and once more reaped laurels. Meanwhile, the chorus of the Helsinki Technical Institute (the 'Teekkarit') also made a tour, in 1950, under the direction of Ossi Elokas, and won approval wherever it appeared.

Many Finnish artists remained in the United States for longer periods of time or even settled here permanently. For example, conductor Tauno Hannikainen, who came to Duluth in 1940, stayed for six years to conduct the city's symphony orchestra. Heimo Haitto appeared in 1940 as a 15-year old concert violinist, winning acclaim in concerts sponsored for Finnish relief. He became an American citizen, and in 1955 he made a second tour of Minnesota, coming from his new home, California.

Finnish-American performers from other states also made frequent appearances in Minnesota, and the workers' societies in particular were active in sponsoring their visits and arranging for their performances. If these performances often left much to be desired, their good will made up for it. The names of Henry

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