DUO CALDERA

Finnish-Polish Duo Caldera was formed in Lahti, Finland in 2011 when two classical guitarists, Agnieszka Terho and Juha Johansson, met each other in concerts of Lahti Conservatory. Juha listened to Agnieszka's solo performance in 2011 during a concert of local musicians which was dedicated to the victims of Japan's tsunami catastrophe. Agnieszka attended the concert in Felix Crohn-hall where Juha performed as chamber musician with other instrumentalists. Ways of both musicians have been meeting often also on the pedagogical field in common student's concerts and student's chamber music sessions. After that time co-operation of the two performers began and the duo started to play their concerts.

Duo Caldera's performances were described as passionate, joyful, brilliant and having an exquisite style of playing. That is why Caldera-name was born: the musicians experience a kind of volcanic feelings of fiery enthusiasm towards music. The musical working of the duo is like a ”cooking pot” from which the Spanish word ”caldera” etymologically come from.

Duo Caldera performs various repertoire from renaissance to modern times. Musicians are looking for an active contact with many kind of audiences and they bring their performances to different churches, art galleries, music institutions as well as sheltered homes and many other places in Finland and Poland. They are also very inspired by the concept of traditional intimate house concerts. Besides their own duo's concerts, musicians create also concerts in co-operation with other instrumentalists. As an example of this, they realize a charitable concert in Laune Church in Lahti, during the spring.

A concert of the duo in October 2016 in Katowice, Poland, has gotten a very good review in the Polish classical guitar magazine. The current new project of the duo is the concert which contains nordic music - arrangements of works by Jean Sibelius for two guitars among others. In spring 2017 Duo Caldera got a grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation's Päijät-Häme Regional Fund for the commission of a new work for guitar duo by Finnish composer Harri Ahmas.

Agnieszka Terho started her music education in 1989 in Katowice, Poland, in M. Karłowicz - a music school with Michał Mitko. During the years 1992-1998 she has studied classical guitar in Katowice, in K. Szymanowski Secondary Music School with Franciszek Wieczorek. Agnieszka has travelled much during those years in Poland, Germany and Finland, attending many master courses with highly recognized classical guitar teachers as Roland Dyens, Remi Boucher, Hans Wilhelm Kauffmann, Timo Korhonen. She has performed much in guitar soloist recitals as well as chamber musician at that time.

Immediately after Secondary Music Schools at the age of 19 she moved to Finland in 1998 and begins her guitars studies with guitarist Timo Korhonen and from 1999 also with Ismo Eskelinen in Turku University of Applied Sciences. From 2000 Agnieszka Terho has studied in Sibelius-Academy in Helsinki with Jukka Savijoki, Jyrki Myllärinen and Ismo Eskelinen. She has studied chamber music with Ilpo Mansnerus and Risto Fredriksson. She graduated from Music Performance Department with Music Master's Degree in 2006. During her studies Agnieszka has participated in many master courses in Finland and abroad meeting such teachers as David Russel, Carlo Domeniconi, Eli Kassner, Stephen Thachuk and others.

She performed with Katowice Philharmonia orchestra in Poland and as a soloist and chamber musician in Finland, Poland, Germany and Italy. She was awarded a grant by German Rottenburger Gitarrenwoche organizer Hans Wilhelm Kauffmann, by rector of Sibelius Academy Pekka Vapaavuori and as a finalist of international and national guitar competitions (Żory 1995, Kielce 1996, Cieszyn 1996, Poland).

After graduating from Sibelius-Academy she worked as guitar lecturer in Raseborg Music Institute in 2006-2007 and after 2007 as a guitar teacher in Lahti Music Institute and North-Kymi Music Institute. She works currently as a guitar lecturer in North Kymi Music Institute in Kouvola in Finland and as a performing artist.

Juha Johansson started his music education in Lahti Conservatory and continued from 1985 his classical guitar studies in Sibelius- Academy's Music Performance Department with Jukka Savijoki. He made his diploma concert on guitar with highest degrees in 1990 and graduated with Music Master's Degree in the same year. Juha has participated during his studies in many master courses in Finland and abroad as a student of Hubert Käppel, David Russel, Alice Arzt, Milan Zelanka, Raphaella Smith, Jörge Morel, Eduardo Falu and Gordon Corsskey. He has studied chamber music with Jukka Savijoki, Seppo Siirala, Tapio Jalas, Matti Rantanen and Tero Airas.

He has performed with orchestra in Finland and as a soloist as well as a chamber musician in Finland, Estonia, Belgium and Poland. Juha has been awarded as a finalist of international guitar competition in Karjaa, Finland in 1988.

During the many years of his artistic work Juha Johansson has co-operated with theatres - 10 years with Lahti City Theatre, with Heinola Summer Theatre and currently with Koirakivi summer theatre in Mäntyharju, Finland. He performs with classical-, jazz- and blues- musicians and he has participating in different symphony orchestra's projects (Sinfonia Lahti and Kymi-Sinfonietta) playing guitar and mandolin. As a theatre musician Juha has played many plucked instruments such as mandolin, banjo, bouzouki, cavaquinho and ud-luth. Juha Johansson performs on classical guitar in many chamber music ensembles and he is a versatile musician who is able to move flexibly in different music genres. He performs in such bands as Martti Peippo's quintet, Jump Blue's Society, Lahti Big Band, Traxid (performing mainly in Estonia) and as a freelancer- musician in many musical projects.

Juha has taught from 1989 in Lahti Conservatory and he works there currently as a lecturer in classical guitar. He has taught also in Lahti University of Applied Sciences among others and he teaches also in Lahti Music Institute in Finland.