Florakören was formed in 1944 by some active students at Åbo Akademi. Today the choir has about 60 active singers. Most of us study at Åbo Akademi but it is not uncommon for students from other schools and individuals in working life to be found in our ranks. The conductor of our choir is Hanna Kronqvist.
Repertoire
Florakören has a versatile repertoire consisting of folk music, sacral, classical pieces, modern choir music and everything in between. The music we sing often originates from The Nordics but we usually also have a few pieces of a more international origin. Florakören often sings in four voice parts but pieces for eight voices are often recurring in the repertoire.
The choirs core repertoire consists of, among others, our “lystringssång” (=”anthem”) Rondell, serenades and traditional drinking songs. Rondell was composed by honorary conductor Gottfrid Gräsbeck in 1960 and is the song we sing when welcoming new singers to the choir or when a singer is rewarded with a badge of merit. The core repertoire is something all singers in Florakören are expected to learn in due time.
Concerts, quartet activity and records
Florakören regularly organises concerts and performs both alone and with other choirs, ensembles or orchestras. Most notably we work and perform together with our brother choir Brahe Djäknar. As a choir of Åbo Akademi we are expected to perform at academic festivities arranged by them.
A highly beloved annual recurring event is the Advent concerts in Turku cathedral - a self evident tradition for thousands of Turku residents since 1947. On the Friday and Saturday of First Advent; Florakören, Brahe Djäknar and Akademiska Orkestern perform for a packed church with both traditional and modern Christmas music.
The program for spring varies from year to year and can consist of smaller or grander musical projects on our own or with another musical group.
In addition to our regular concerts we have a well established quartet activity. Within the choir there exist several persistent quartets, but we also put together new quartets per request to perform at all kinds of festivities.
Florakören has throughout the years dropped numerous records. The most recent one Fristad dropped in 2026. Fristad (=“Sanctuary”) was the theme for our 80-year jubilee and the record consists of four new treble choir compositions revolving around themes of freedom and hope - what does freedom mean and what is a sanctuary to you?
Tours and choir competitions
Florakören regularly goes on tour to different interesting sites. During these tours the choir gives concerts and the singers are given the opportunity to explore the local culture. Florakören has performed in all of the Nordics, many European countries and in North America.