Biography

Elina Kardén is a professional singer and vocal coach based in Helsinki. She graduated as a musician from the Helsinki Pop & Jazz Conservatory and as a pop/jazz vocal teacher from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

For over ten years, she has worked in a wide range of professional roles in the music industry — including singer, vocal teacher, composer, lyricist, arranger, and musical theatre performer.

She has studied jazz in the youth jazz program of the Sibelius Academy as well as in jazz workshops across Finland and Europe. As a jazz vocalist, she has received recognition in Finnish Big Band competitions and was awarded the first Storyville scholarship by the The Traditional Jazz Association of Finland (Suomen Perinnejazz ry.). She is especially known for her virtuosic scat improvisation and fearless approach to fast tempos.

Elina says she loves singing across genres:

"I love performing different styles using different vocal colors — shaping my voice to suit each song. That's why I enjoy singing in multiple languages: Finnish, English, French, Portuguese, Swedish… each has its own atmosphere and sound. But the most fun is vocal imitations — mimicking famous singers and even instruments. Audiences seem to love those as much as I am!"

Beyond jazz, she is particularly inspired by Brazilian styles such as bossa nova and samba. She plays Brazilian percussion instruments and has translated well-known Brazilian songs from Portuguese into Finnish. Her own ensembles include for example Elina Kardén & The Riff Tigers, Duo Rio, Sydämen Sävel and The Swingtide. In addition, Elina performs as a soloist with numerous ensembles ranging from duos to big bands, and has twice appeared as a featured vocalist with the legendary UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra.

Follow Elinas upcoming gigs from the gig calendar.