Biography

Vilho Kekkonen was born on February 21, 1909 in Finland. He was an actor, known for Taikayö (1954), People in the Summer Night (1948) and The Stars Will Tell, Inspector Palmu (1962). He died on October 20, 2014 in Jyväskylä, Finland.

He received a cantor-organist degree, and later, a diploma in singing at the Sibelius Academy, at the age of 41. In the intervening time, he sang in the Finnish Opera chorus and played supporting roles in movies.

From 1950 to 1974, he was the cantor-organist of a rural church. He was also a choirmaster and singing teacher.

During the Winter War of 1939 between Finland and the Soviet Union, he served as a messenger between the front-line troops and headquarters. Soviet paratroopers who had been dropped into the area waited in hiding in the treetops. His fellow soldier was shot next to him. Kekkonen, fearing the same fate, decided to sing something in Russian -- Lenski's aria from Tchaikovsky's opera "Eugene Onegin". The snipers spared him.

He celebrated his 100th birthday, and the distinction of being the world's oldest still-performing tenor. He lives with his wife in Jyvaskyla, Finland. He sings at Christmas and at Midsummer celebrations.

I was riding on a horse-drawn sleigh in the moonlight and singing Lenski's aria from Tchaikovsky's opera "Eugene Onegin", and I survived. It is the highest fee I have ever been paid for one song. (on passing Soviet snipers unharmed in the 1939 Winter War)

A performance is not good if there is no stage fright. One just has to select the right time for it -- either just before or right after the performance, but preferably not during it! Getting the timing right is difficult, but one can learn it.