Riitta Korpela is a Finnish children's music educator and performer who created Ti-Ti Nalle and the wider Nalle family - a cast of eight bear characters now spanning nearly 40 years of Finnish family culture. Trained as a kindergarten teacher at the University of Tampere and as a music-play-school teacher at the Sibelius Academy, she built the concept from a single crocheted bear her mother made for her teaching demonstrations. Ti-Ti Nalle reached a mass audience through years of appearances on YLE's Pikku Kakkonen, and has since grown into books, CD and DVD releases, TV series, streaming content and nationwide concert tours. In November 2025 Korpela received the lifetime achievement award from Lastenmusiikki ry at the Jellona gala.
Korpela received the lifetime achievement award from Lastenmusiikki ry at the Jellona gala, recognising her decades-long work in Finnish children's music and early music education.
The new concert show 'Ti-Ti Nalle, Lumiukon salaisuus' launched its tour across Finland, running from October 2025 into early 2026.
The follow-up concert tour 'Ti-Ti Nallen Rytmiretki' toured multiple Finnish cities in spring 2026, with at least one date selling out.
Ti-Ti Nallen Rytmiretki concerts are scheduled to continue in autumn 2026, including a date at Tampereen Komediateatteri on 1 November 2026.
