When FinnFest 2024, North America’s premier experience of Nordic culture and learning, gets underway July 24 in Duluth, among the many talented performers will be two University of Wisconsin-Superior alumnae.

Mother and daughter musicians Teresa Aho (music education, ‘81) and Kristiina Thums (music education, ‘20), along with Terri Lehr, sister, aunt and former UW-Superior student, make up the group Northern Stars Sami Girls, a band that performs traditional Finnish music. The trio will make several performances during FinnFest – Thursday, July 25, from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Tori Finnish Marketplace and from 8 to 10 p.m. in the Gooseberry Falls Room. 

Aho, an accomplished accordionist, will be featured at the FinnFest convocation ceremony on Thursday, July 25, at 6 p.m. This event will commemorate the induction of the Finnish-American accordionist Viola Turpeinen’s recording of “Kauhavan Polkka” in the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry in 2024. 

Thums currently serves as the event planner for coordination and communication with the community regarding professional development sessions, planning and scheduling and other logistical needs for the Community Music School.

The three give credit to their classical music training they received from UW-Superior’s Music Department. All arrangements for Northern Stars Sami Girls are written by Aho, which gives their musical sound a classical flair.