Wilho F. Saari (July 7, 1932 – January 19, 2022) was a

Finnish American Finnish Americans ( fi, amerikansuomalaiset, ) comprise Americans with ancestral roots from Finland or Finnish people who immigrated to and reside in the United States. The Finnish-American population numbers a little bit more than 650,000. Man ...

player of the

kantele A kantele () or kannel () is a traditional Finnish and Karelian plucked string instrument (chordophone) belonging to the south east Baltic box zither family known as the Baltic psaltery along with Estonian kannel, Latvian kokles, Lithuanian ...

, the Finnish

psaltery A psaltery ( el, ψαλτήρι) (or sawtry, an archaic form) is a fretboard-less box zither (a simple chordophone) and is considered the archetype of the zither and dulcimer; the harp, virginal, harpsichord and clavichord were also inspired by ...

. Kreeta Haapasalo, a well-known kantele player in Finland in the 19th century, was his great-great grandmother. His father, Wilho Sr., also performed the kantele in public, only in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, having brought a kantele with him to America in 1915. In 2005, Washington

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again ...

awarded Saari the Governor's Heritage Award for his work popularizing and teaching the kantele. Saari is a resident of

Naselle, Washington Naselle is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pacific County, Washington, United States located about 23 miles (37 km) from the mouth of the Columbia River. The population was 419 at the 2010 census. The valley's Naselle River flows west into ne ...

. In 2006 he was one of ten recipients of the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

(NEA) award of a

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

, the country's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Saari both taught and performed around the country. In

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...

, and

, he performed at FinnFest USA '06, an annual national festival, where he participated in the world premiere of a Kantele Mass composed by Jarkko Yli-Annala. Saari was married for over 50 years to his "roadie" Kaisa, of Kuopio, Finland. They had two children. Saari also had six grandchildren. He died on January 19, 2022, at the age of 89.

References

External links

Washington State Arts Commission – Folk Arts – Master Artist – Wilho Saari

Finlandia Foundation National – Wilho Saari POY 2011 Finnish Kantele
1932 births 2022 deaths Place of birth missing American people of Finnish descent Kantele players National Heritage Fellowship winners People from Pacific County, Washington Musicians from Washington (state) {{Washington-musician-stub