Sanni Orasmaa, MA, specializes in the pedagogy and teaching of sustainable creative voice use, improvisation, and jazz music. Sanni currently works as a lecturer in jazz singing at the Munich University of Music, where she teaches singing, ensemble work, and performance workshops combining movement and sound.
Previously, she was a University Lecturer at Tampere University, where she teaches singing, music, and ensemble work for acting students, a Senior Lecturer in the voice department at Pop & Jazz Conservatory in Helsinki, and a Vocal Instructor at The Brooklyn Conservatory in NYC. Since 2016, Sanni has worked at her own company, conducting lessons and lectures within the Aalto University’s AVP program and Helsinki City Theater, among others.
Previously, she was a University Lecturer at Tampere University, where she teaches singing, music, and ensemble work for acting students, a Senior Lecturer in the voice department at Pop & Jazz Conservatory in Helsinki, and a Vocal Instructor at The Brooklyn Conservatory in NYC. Since 2016, Sanni has worked at her own company, conducting lessons and lectures within the Aalto University’s AVP program and Helsinki City Theater, among others.
Sanni Orasmaa is a sought-after pedagogue, clinician, and consultant for students, practitioners, and institutions involved in all aspects and levels of popular music education, contemporary voice, and jazz. As a private instructor, her passion is helping artists find their voices through self-discovery, improvisation, and technical skills. Her students have gone on to have measurable success in the music industry in Europe and overseas.
After completing her graduate degree in jazz voice at The University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria, Ms. Orasmaa began teaching in New York City through private music and theatre programs and the Brooklyn Conservatory. Through these programs, she gained valuable teaching experience in general music settings. After leaving NYC to serve as the vocal head teacher in Helsinki, she returned to Finland and later enrolled in the faculty of Munich University in Germany.
Through these experiences, Sanni discovered a passion for teaching students without former music education together with pre-professional and professional students. This passion led her to pursue ecotherapy, music therapy, and cognitive therapy training in various institutes of higher education, specializing in safe environments in music education settings. Her two books, published in 2018 and 2019, are qualitative multiple-case explorations of the benefits of nature connection and singing.
Sanni Orasmaa has held numerous adjunct professors at several institutions. She is currently a member of the Finnish Voice Teachers Association (Laulupedagogit ry) and the performing arts medicine associations in Finland (SMULY) and the US (PAMA). She frequently presents at international conferences, including The International Association for Voice Teachers and The International Jazz Voice Conference.
In 2016, Sanni founded SoundByNature, a company dedicated to empowering singers and non-singers from all fields and disciplines to engage with their creativity, improvise, and help their students deepen their creative acts.
Ms. Orasmaa currently resides in Finland. In addition to commuting to Munich, she performs, teaches, runs her own business, mentors, and gives masterclasses and workshops on nature singing, contemporary voice, and higher music education.
LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS
Music, Ageing and Technology Symposium, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland, 2016; “Acting Jazz – Exploring the Expressive Line in Music, Improvisation and Communication”
International Congress of Voice Teachers – Future of Singing, Stockholm, Sweden, 2017; “Acting Jazz – Exploring the Expressive Line in Music, Space, Improvisation, Communication and Intonation” “Early Bird Catches the Swing”
International Jazz Voice Conference – Artistry in Jazz Singing, Helsinki, 2017; “Nature in Jazz – How Body Awareness, Acoustical Experience and Supportive Environment Effect on Jazz Singer’s Learning Process in Performance Training”
International Forest Therapy Days, Evo, Finland, 2019; Forest Sound Walk
Columbia University – Improvisation and Time, Online conference, NYC USA, 2020; “Nature in Jazz – How Body Awareness, Acoustical Experience and Supportive Environment Effect on Learning Process in Improvisation”
ARCTISEN – Culturally Sensitive Tourism in the Arctics, Sisimiut, Greenland, 2020; Forest Sound Walk
International Jazz Voice Conference – Artistry in Jazz Singing, Helsinki, 2023: "Possibilities of Short-term Therapy Model in the Field of Jazz Vocal Education"
FEEDBACK
“Ich möchte unbedingt Danke sagen für den tollen Workshop. Es ist so magisch zu sehen wie die Studenten nach 1,5 Jahre, harter Training, wieder zurück finden zur Ruhe, und zu sich selbst. Zumindest wissen sie jetzt wie sie sich selbst wieder finden können.”
— Program Director
— Program Director
“Ihmisessä on niin paljon asioita ja ominaisuuksia, jotka ovat ikäänkuin koteloituneet matkalla lapsuuden avoimuudesta kohti aikuisuuden kontrollia. Kehollisuus ja tanssillinen liike ovat kohdallani se avain, joka vapauttaa pään sisäisiä lukkoja. Ilo, nauru, tunteet kaikkineen ovat Sannin tunnilla luonnollisessa muodossa läsnä. Pidän myös Sannin lempeästä vaativuudesta, sehän on luottamuksen osoitus!”
— Heidi Herala, Actress
— Heidi Herala, Actress
“Sanni oli opiskeluaikoinani suurin kannustaja oman ilmaisun ja äänen löytämiseen sekä musiikin tekemiseen. Olen Sannille ikuisesti kiitollinen rohkaisusta ja tervehenkisestä haastamisesta!”
— Stina Koistinen
— Stina Koistinen
“Ääneni rentoutui paljon tuntien johdosta ja opin Sannilta laulamaan revontulet sydämessä!”
— Aino Ruotanen
— Aino Ruotanen
“Sanni has a special way to lead musicians to listen to their own inner voice and trust them. She knows how voice works and how the mind works. Her willingness of sharing this knowledge and the passion with her students aways inspires me.“
— Yeahwon Shin
— Yeahwon Shin
"Sannin opetuksessa voin avoimesti olla sellainen kuin juuri sinä päivänä olen - pelkoineni, iloineni, kaikkineen."
— Ella Mettänen
— Ella Mettänen
“Sannin lämpöinen läsnäolo ja taito ohjata kokemaan oma keho laulaessa on vapauttanut valtavasti voimavaroja musiikintekemiseeni.”
— Josefiina Vannesluoma
— Josefiina Vannesluoma
“Sanni profoundly shaped and inspired the way I approach singing, improvising, and making music in general. I can draw from her input daily, as she showed me how important and fulfilling it is to feel the music in your body, to move, and to sing from your heart, connected with your emotions, and grounded from within.”
— Alma Naidu
— Alma Naidu
"Erityisesti arvostin kahta asiaa: nuotittomuutta ja sitä että metä kannustettiin rohkeasti heittäytymään eri tilanteisiin. Siitä jäi "pysyvät" jäljet. Hyvn inspiroivaa ja mieltä avaavaa."
— Leena Mellenius
— Leena Mellenius
Further...
"Käteen ei jäänyt valtavaa ohjelmistoa, eikä loistavia II-V-I lickejä, vaan ajatuksia rehellisyydestä, itsensä ja muiden kuuntelemisesta ja kunnioittamisesta. Välineitä ja harjoituksia joita käytän aina kun tuntuu että on svengi hukassa eikä yhteyttä muihin soittajiin meinaa löytyä.”
"Yksityistunneilla keskityttiin mm. tulkitsemiseen, sujuvuuteen, virtauksiin ja kaariin. Tuntui kuin tavoitteena olisi ollut avata kaikki mahdolliset luukut itsestäni, jotta musiikin virta pääsisi liikkumaan niin vapaasti kuin mahdollista.”
“Täytyy myös kiittää inspiraatiosta. Sinun improvisaatio tuntien jäljeen jo konsalla tuli sellainen olo että sai olla itsensä, yhdessä muiden kanssa. Ei muutoin ollut aina niin helppoa.”