The Conferment of Degrees Ceremony celebrates not only science but also the arts
The university’s twelfth Conferment of Degrees Ceremony celebrates both the past and the future. As part of the Act of Conferment, the audience will hear composer Kirsti Rasehorn’s Promootiosarja (Conferral Suite), composed for JYU's the Conferment of Degrees Ceremony of 2000. At the Saturday evening Dinner and Ball, the audience will hear Promootioruno (Poem of the Conferment Ceremony) written by poet Saila Susiluoto for this year’s Ceremony. The piece carries the listener's thoughts to the awakening of nature in spring, and the life in itself.
Composer Kirsti Rasehorn (née Hämäläinen) returns to the roots of her studies by conducting a performance of the Promootiosarja at the University of Jyväskylä’s Act of Conferment of Degrees.
Born in Isojoki and having spent her student years in Jyväskylä, Rasehorn holds a Licentiate of Philosophy and is a qualified music teacher. In her career, she has worked as a composer, head of education, and music teaching and pedagogy in higher education. She currently works as the Director of the Open Campus at the University of the Arts Helsinki.
Rasehorn has deep roots in Jyväskylä’s orchestral culture. In 1993, she (then Hämäläinen), together with Anita Manninen, founded an orchestra for the annual celebration of the Department of Teacher Education. This orchestra is the Symphony Orchestra of the University of Jyväskylä Sinfis, which remains active. In the Act of Conferment, Sinfis will perform the Promootiosarja under the baton of its founder.
Promootiosarja illustrates the stages of academic life
As a composer, Kirsti Rasehorn is versatile: she has composed and arranged music for chamber and symphony orchestras, ensembles, and choirs. Her work enjoys the appreciation of music enthusiasts, and several of her compositions have been recorded. In addition to Sinfis, Rasehorn also co-founded the now-disbanded chamber orchestra Melomania.
The suite, which was composed for the University of Jyväskylä’s 2000 Conferment of Degrees Ceremony, depicts phases of academic life in four movements. The composition is dedicated to Sinfis, which Rasehorn conducted from its founding until 1999. The story of the work is divided into four themes: Seminaarinmäki, Student life, The Daily Life of a Researcher, and Garlands and Rings, Hats and Swords.
In addition to the conferment composition, the Act of Conferment will feature performances by the University of Jyväskylä Symphony Orchestra, including Jean Sibelius’s Promootiomarssi (Academic March) and Andante Festivo, as well as Suite for Symphony Orchestra by Felix Sutinen-Loß, a former member of the orchestra.
Poet Saila Susiluoto’s Conferment Poem draws inspiration from nature and change
At the Dinner and Ball at Paviljonki, a poem written for this year's Conferment of Degrees ceremony by poet Saila Susiluoto will be heard. The poem will be performed by the artist herself. The piece captures fleeting moments in which something is in the midst of change. The multifaceted poem weaves through the layers of time and pauses to listen to the transition from spring to summer.
Poet Saila Susiluoto is a performing artist inspired by the freedom of art, connections, and a sense of wonder. A native of Helsinki, she studied general literary studies, philosophy, and aesthetics at the University of Helsinki, as well as writing at the Critical Academy (Kriittinen korkeakoulu). Her studies inspired her to turn to poetry, and in her award-winning debut collection Siivekkäät ja hännäkkäät (Winged ones and Tailed ones) (2001), Susiluoto explored the relationship between prose and poetry. Throughout her artistic career, she has focused on themes such as poetry, fables and nature.
Susiluoto has taught creative writing and held the Artist Professor grant in literature from 2017 to 2022. She has published several poetry collections, most recently Rituaali (The Ritual) (2025) and Summerhill (2026), as well as the novel Kehrä (Spindle) in 2021. In addition to her artistic career, Susiluoto was on the board of the Young Power Association (2002–2006) and the Union of Finnish Writers (2009–2011).
