Finnish National Opera Terminates Conductor’s Contract due to Misconduct Allegations

Conductor Jonas Rannila is no longer working with orchestra due to allegations of “inappropriate” behavior towards young people in the industry

In an article published in late May 2024 by the Finnish investigative blog Long Play titled “The musician’s paradox,” an unnamed musician was mentioned, following a tip from a student at the Sibelius Academy University of the Arts Helsinki (UniArts), who messaged about a potential story about the “abuse of power in the field of classical music.”

Recently, the Finnish conductor Jonas Rannila has announced on his social media that the unnamed musician in the article is himself, “so that the allegations aren’t targeted at the wrong people,” he writes.  

A graduate of the Sibelius Academy with a master’s degree in music in 2017, Rannila has since performed as an acclaimed conductor and choir director in productions across Finland. The 35-year-old works as the musical director of Opera Box and the artistic director of the Helsinki Philharmonic Choir and the Finnish Oratorio Choir, writes MTV News; he was recently appointed chief conductor of the Pori Sinfonietta, and made his debut in the productions of the Finnish National Opera in the 2022/23 season. 

He has also conducted the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Ilmajoki Music Festival, Helsinki Festival Weeks, plus led the city orchestras of Tampere, Turku, Kuopio, and Mikkeli, Tapiola Sinfonietta, and the Vantaa entertainment orchestra. With the Finnish National Opera, he has conducted over 30 operas in a short period; with the Vaasa City Orchestra, he has led almost 40 opera performances.

As Long Play’s article circulated, the Finnish National Opera’s communications director Liisa Riekki told Yle News that it ultimately decided to terminate its contract with Rannila. The allegations against him are now being investigated internally. His instagram and website are no longer active online.

Rannila’s statement on Facebook reads:

“In the story of the Long Play publication, published at the end of May, ‘The Musician Paradox’ told about a ‘classical music professional having a significant career,’ who is ‘in a significant position of power’ and is guilty of ‘abuse of power’ (expressed by the publication). No mention of the musician in the post. So that the allegations aren't targeted at the wrong people, I want to tell you the article is about me.

“My opinion is condensed into the following three points:

1. 1. It’s important that the abuse is addressed and the problems are not left unaddressed.
   2. I have not understood the importance of my slowly developed power in my personal life as well and my behavior has thus offended others.
   3. I can't sign the allegations in the article as such and hope to deal with the authorities.

“I express my deep apologies to anyone who has [been] offended by my behavior. This was not my intention. I also express my apologies to my colleagues, partners and employers for the inconvenience caused. I hope my privacy is respected and I can deal with things in peace. I have understood the problematic features of my behavior and I will act differently in the future. 

“I thank my loved ones for their support. I won’t comment on the matter any further.”

Long Play’s article explains that it investigated the allegation against Rannila (referred to as “Muusiko” or “Musician” in the May article) by separately interviewing 11 young people studying and working in the arts who have first-hand experience of Muusiko’s behavior that “crosse[d] boundaries” — most of them studied music, were much younger than Muusiko — in their 20s or younger when they met him. 

The two writers of the article, Karoliina Paananen and Sonja Saarikoski explain that the reliability of each person’s story was verified, among other things, through viewing their message exchanges. It is alleged that Muusiko’s speech often revolved around sex and that he would also ask others about sexual topics.  

“Long Play does not publish the Musician’s name and does not claim that he has committed any crimes,” the article states. “We are writing about Muusiko's activities because the issue is socially significant. The musician exercises power over young artists: he offers people in the early stages of their careers important job opportunities in different places.”

Rannila was scheduled to begin his tenure as chief conductor of the Pori Sinfonietta in the fall. Esa Kohtamäki, the education director of the City of Pori, says that Long Play’s information came as a complete surprise. The city is now sorting out the matter with Rannila, with new information yet to come, Yle writes in a separate report. 

Helsinki Philharmonic Choir’s board chairman Katja Tammela told Yle that the association “will continue processing the matter” regarding Rannila. Jan Salvén, the former chairman of the board of Mieskooro Manifestum (where Rannila was artistic director), which ceased operations last year, said that the choir was not aware of any ambiguities related to Rannila, saying that “This is an absolutely huge shock for us.”

Rannila has also been hired as the conductor for the The Lord of the Rings joint production of Tampere Theater and Tampere Hall that will launch in August 2024. Tampere-talo Group’s CEO Paulina Ahokas told Yle that the matter is under investigation and that they “cannot say anything else at this stage.”

As for Rannila’s role as an expert commentator on Yle’s opera broadcasts on the National Opera’s Ring Cycle, Yle’s Director of Creative Content and Media Ville Vilén states they “are monitoring how the situation develops.” 

Rannila’s roles in other projects in collaboration with the Sibelius Academy have been withdrawn — project manager Kaisa Näreranta confirmed to Yle that the change of conductor was due specifically to Long Play’s article.

Following a statement by the UniArts student union — on the same day Long Play’s first article was published — Sibelius Academy’s Dean Emilie Gardberg published her own statement the following day, part of which reads:

“In the (Long Play’s) story, the students of the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts also talk about their experiences. I am truly saddened and sorry for the serious abuse of power they experienced in the professional field, about which we had no prior knowledge. ‘Musician’ is not employed by the University of the Arts.

“The student union of the University of the Arts approached me as soon as the story came out. I greatly appreciate the fact that we can have a continuous and direct discussion with students about issues. I want to continue the discussion on the topic with our students and I am personally committed to doing everything I can to develop an increasingly healthy operating culture. I want to work to ensure that the music industry is a safe place to study and work. The operation is only sustainable if the community is safe. In personnel selection, both in our own activities and in our cooperation projects, we will ensure that no student has to fear exposure to inappropriate treatment.”