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Former Moses Lake pianist receives Finnish knighthood

By Joel Martin Columbia Basin Herald

MOSES LAKE — A former Moses Lake man was recently honored with a knighthood in Finland.

Collin Hansen, a 1975 graduate of Moses Lake High School, was awarded the Order of the Lion of Finland at a ceremony March 18.

“It’s an honor that every year … the president (of Finland) awards certain members of society,” Hansen said. “(It) was for my contribution to Finnish musical life and also, in my work at the university, helping a younger generation of musicians in Finland.”

Hansen, a highly-accomplished pianist specializing in chamber and vocal music, studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., and then took a master’s degree at the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, according to the committee that awarded him the honor. He has taught at the Sibelius Academy since 1987.

“His inspiring student- and composition-oriented teaching has inspired entire generations of Finnish pianists, both at the Sibelius Academy and in numerous summer courses, to become enthusiastic about music,” the committee wrote.

Hansen’s talent became obvious at an early age, according to his mother, Vonnie Hansen, who lives in Moses Lake.

“From the time he could walk, he got up to the piano and touched the keys,” Vonnie Hansen said. “By the time he was 4 years old, he was playing his Sunday school songs by ear. He started taking piano lessons in the first grade.”

The Order of the Lion of Finland was created in 1942 to recognize outstanding civilian or military conduct, according to the Finnish government’s website.

In addition to his teaching, Hansen is also the creative director of the LuomuLaulu, or Time of Music, Festival in Viitasaari, Finland.

“We do concerts in granaries and barns, chamber music and lots of vocal music,” he said. “We have massive classes and students come and live in people’s guest houses. Central Finland is absolutely wonderful; it’s a pristine part of the country on a lake. We’ve had famous opera singers and chamber musicians come. It’s absolutely wonderful.”