About Lifelong Music

It started In 1995, when Ken Piirtoniemi wrote 'A Superior! Fanfare' and 'A Superior! Suite' to involve his music students with Lake Superior environmental issues. They were performed at the First Bi-National Student Environmental Symposium on Lake Superior, held in Ashland, Wisconsin. Bands have played them at most of the symposia to date in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ontario. Since then, Ken has continued composing, and officially registered his publishing company, Lifelong Music, in 2001.

Ken uses Finale notation software for publishing music and assignments, and has presented Finale workshops as professional development for teachers.

Works have been composed for beginning, intermediate, senior concert band, brass band, brass ensembles, saxophone quartets, accompanied solos, and literally hundreds of studies. “Limited Experience” works for beginning bands focus on meeting student and teacher needs at the fundamental stage of musical development, particularly where method books fall short.

Ken Piirtoniemi (b. 1951) Port Arthur, Ontario, graduated with a B. Mus. - Honours 1974 & B. Ed. 1976 from the University of Western Ontario at London, and his A. Mus. Performer’s Diploma - tuba 1974 from Western Ontario Conservatory of Music at London. His teachers included: Saville Shuttleworth, Charles Dalkert, Ralph Aldrich, Clifford Evens, and A.James Ford. Ken performed as principal tubist of the London Symphony Orchestra (Ontario), tuba recitalist, and performed throughout Ontario as tubist of the faculty ensemble, London Brass Quintet. In addition, he was a low brass instructor for the Faculty of Music and the Conservatory of Western Ontario (Conservatory Canada). Ken has played tuba for the Lakehead Symphony Orchestra, Sault Symphony and Sault Opera Society,  tuba/trombone with the Steeltown Silver Band, trombone for Sault Swing Band and the Musical Comedy Guild.

For 30 years Ken taught grade 9 - 13 instrumental music in the Sault including band, vocal, and piano keyboard classes at Korah, Bawating, and White Pines Collegiate & Vocational schools. In 1996 he was one of 6 team members of the Lake Superior Basin project selected for the Reader’s Digest “National Outstanding Leaders in Education Award”, and in 1997 was presented the OSSTF Leadership in Education Award.

Ken was a 5-year board member of Ontario Music Educators Association in charge of regional workshops, and an instructor at the Ministry of Education's Ontario Music Leadership Camp at Lake Couchiching from 1980-84, low brass instructor at Ontario Youth Music Camp in Beaverton, and Huntington Summer Music Camp in Sudbury.

Since 1998 Ken has been a brass instructor at Algoma University, and has taught all brass instruments plus clarinet, saxophone, and beginner percussion for Algoma Conservatory since 1999. He holds a valid license from the Ontario College of Teachers.