About
Tatu Kantomaa 
Tatu is an accomplished Finnish artist whose career spans over 25 years. His public appearances include solo-accordion performances, playing in numerous venues in theatre and musical productions as well as in ensemble recordings. In recent years, Tatu has focused on compositions, music production and arrangements as well as holding an instructor position at the Tónlistarskóli Kópavogs music school in Iceland.
Tatu has performed publicly since the age of seven. Countless appearances in Finland with his mentor, Mr.Veikko Ahvenainen gave Tatu a solid training in public performance, culminating in his solo debut at the Hyvinkää accordion festival in Finland in 1985. In 1986-1987 he toured the United States and Japan accompanied by Mr. Ahvenainen and during this time they performed together on television shows in Moscow and Eastern Germany.
Living in Iceland since 1996, Tatu has become a permanent member of the alternative group Rússíbanar. Also pursuing a solo career, however, he released the solo album “Listen” and saw it through with a concert tour in Iceland. In 1999 Tatu moved to Hanover, Germany, studying under Elsbeth Moser for two years in the “Hochschule für Musik und Theater”. During this time he formed a duo with Finnish tenor Harri Kaitila, focusing on Finnish tango music and touring Germany extensively in 2001.
Since returning to Iceland in 2002, Tatu has gained popularity in various different musical scenes performing solo and with musicians like Egill Ólafsson, Björgvin Halldórsson, Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir, Kolbeinn Ketilsson, Guðni Franzson and Matthías Hemstock among others. Along with recording performances and appearances in theatre venues such as the National Theatre of Iceland, Tatu has been a member of the new music ensemble Caput as well as extending his accordion prowess into the world of the bandoneon in the music group “Tangósveit Lýðveldisins”.
Recently, Icelanders have been able to enjoy the duo of Tatu and the violinist Hjörleifur Valsson, playing various musical styles depending on, as Tatu says in a peculiar mix of Finnish and Icelandic humor, “the occasion as well as the lunar cycle”.