Timo Alakotila

Timo Alakotila is a Finnish composer, arranger, and musician born June 15, 1959.

Timo Alakotilas' range of music styles stretches from Finnish folk music of the "pelimanni" style over some jazz influences to more or less Finnish style tangos, and with some extensions to classical music. He is one of the founding members of the well-known Finnish folk fiddler group JPP of the Kaustinen tradition, where he plays harmonium, and in the similar group Troka. In both groups, he is one of the main arrangers and composers. Alakotila has worked with accordionist Maria Kalaniemi for more than ten years in several formats, including a duo, a trio and the group Aldargaz. Kalaniemi and Alakotila play both their own and each other's arrangements and compositions, as well as some traditional material.

Another of Alakotila's projects is Unto Tango Orchestra ("Tango-orkesteri Unto"), a tango orchestra that was formed to perform at Expo '98 in Lisbon, Portugal. This groups mainly plays Alakotila's rather chamber-music-like arrangements of Finnish tango. In 2004 BBC Concert Orchestra, JPP and Maria Kalaniemi performed music written by Alakotila for the occasion. Among his more "classic style" works is a folk-music/chamber hybrid, a concerto for accordion and orchestra, originally performed at the folk music festival "Haapavesi Folk" with Johanna Juholla as the soloist.

Alakotila also works as a teacher at the Sibelius Academy and at the Helsinki Pop & Jazz Conservatory.