This year, Lumo homes once again brought Christmas cheer to its residents with a Christmas concert tour.

In December 2022, residents were offered the opportunity to attend a Christmas concert in their area, either at Logomo in Turku, Tampere Hall in Tampere, Madetoja Hall in Oulu, or the final concert of the tour at Savoy Theatre in Helsinki. In fact, two concerts were held at Savoy after the first concert sold out in only a few minutes.

Sami Pitkämö and his orchestra performed at the concerts. In addition, the concerts in Turku and Tampere featured singer Annika Eklund as the female soloist, and Nina Tapio in Oulu and Helsinki.

Juha Saikkonen, who was responsible for the events on behalf of Lumo homes, met many delighted residents in the lobby of Savoy. His day job is Unit Director of Service Channels at Lumo homes.

Last year, the concert had to be arranged virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year, it felt especially good to be there in person, taking in the Christmas spirit.

“It took a lot of work to bring everything together. Now, I feel really great. Customers have been very pleased with the content of the concerts. Savoy Theatre offered a wonderful setting for these last two concerts,” Saikkonen says.

Backstage at Savoy, the stars of the evening – Sami Pitkämö and former member of the pop music duo Taikapeili Nina Tapio – get into the mood of the concert. Sami's four-person orchestra is known as the virtuoso band from MTV's Tanssii tähtien kanssa (Dancing with the Stars), among others.

“We combined the strengths of both for the concert programme,” Tapio says with a smile.

A lot of feeling, a lot of nostalgia and a touch of Christmas, of course.

Pitkämö says the pair will start the concert with some light jazz. From there, the performance will continue to be inspired by rhythmic music until the 1980s. There is a lot of feeling, a lot of nostalgia and a touch of Christmas, of course.

“My relationship with Christmas is quite typical, it’s nice to be able to wind down. I believed in Santa until I was three years old, until it was revealed that he was my uncle,” Pitkämö says.

Lumo residents and their companions are already waiting in Savoy's spectacular lobby for the concert to start.

Ari Kokkonen has arrived from Simonsilta in Vantaa.

“I've lived there for a long time, it's a really nice area. And it's nice to come to a Christmas concert when it's snowy outside. Nina Tapio is also a good performer,” Kokkonen says happily.

He says that he is looking forward to the concert, as is Heikki Taivainen, who is accompanying Ari. The two have seen Tapio perform live before, on a cruise. They are also familiar with Tanssi tähtien kanssa show and its band.

Jenny Ylönen, 18, is attending the concert with her mother. She has lived in the same Lumo home on Hämeentie all her life.

“It's peaceful living there – and easy when you have good transport links,” Ylönen says.

She is also looking forward to hearing some good music.

Jenni Hämäläinen, 36, is the first resident of the Lumo home in Sompasaari, which was completed a year ago.

“I have enjoyed living there a lot. In addition, the housing company has a good laundry room and a wonderful sauna on the top floor.”

Hämäläinen has never been a resident of a Lumo home before. The Christmas concert offered Lumo residents a positive surprise, and especially the soloist:

“Nina Tapio is my childhood favourite from Taikapeili!”

On the other hand, Katariina Biahun, 32, and Anton Neletski, 39, were unfamiliar with the performers.

“We came here to have a good time together,” they say.

A year ago, the couple moved into a Lumo home in Vallila’s Apinalinna.

“It's a really beautiful building,” Biahun says, praising the courtyard in particular. It is one of the largest in the Nordic countries.

“It’s possible to sunbathe in the yard during the summer and ski in the winter,” Neletski adds.

The hour-long concert sweeps the audience away into the world of beautiful, classic love songs.

Sami Pitkämö starts the concert by browsing the “American songbook” with his orchestra, as he says in his speech. The audience gets to hear Stevie Wonder, for example.

Nina Tapio takes the stage to begin her performance with the melancholic song Maailman äärettömyys (“The Infinity of the World”). The mood changes rapidly when moving to the energetic Taikapeili love song Aina kun sä meet (“Every Time You Go”).

Then it's time for some big, emotional songs. Tapio performs, for example, the Whitney Houston classic Saving All My Love For You. With Duffy's song Mercy, Nina Tapio reminds the audience to be forgiving with themselves when it comes to their Christmas preparations.

Pitkämö also performs his own lyrics and composition with the song Sinulle lauluni teen (“I Write My Song For You”). Pitkämö and Tapio also sing a few songs together, including the beautiful Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett duet I Just Can't Stop Loving You.

The concert ends with the popular The Winner Takes It All by Abba, wonderfully interpreted by Tapio.

The audience applauds, clearly pleased and delighted. Cheerful residents leave the hall, forgetting all about the rush of Christmas.