Tuulikki Bartosik

I started playing the accordion at the age of 8. I remember clearly the hot summer at my grandmother's when all my cousins were outside playing in the yard, whilst I sat inside and learnt to play my father's old accordion. The road led me to the music programme at high school where there were several good accordion teachers.

My greatest musical idol is my father, who still plays guitar and sings in different groups in Estonia. As a child I was able to accompany my father to gigs and sit with him in the studio, and my interest in music grew rapidly.

My biggest dream was, of course, to form my own band and write my own music. After nearly 20 years, that dream has become reality through folk music.

The road to folk music has been rocky and led me through different schools and groups, to the Culture College at Viljandi. In Estonia, the accordion was not appreciated, and as my teacher, Maria Kalaniemi, taught at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, I decided to apply there instead. In autumn 1997 I started studying in Helsinki.

I had always dreamed of playing Swedish folk music and that dream came true in 1999 when I was accepted to study at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. In Sweden, I found everything I had sought for a long time - a tradition, friends, and people to play with, in short my whole life!

Since then it has been obvious to me what music and which tradition I want to represent in my music. In June 2002, I sat my Bachelor in Music exam as the first free-bass accordion student in the history of the folk music department.

I also teach at the Viljandi Culture College in Estonia and Gothenburg's Music College in Sweden, as well as play in different groups in Sweden.