Sibelius Academy Big Band is the big band ensemble of the jazz department at the Sibelius Academy, part of the University of the Arts Helsinki. Active since at least 1983, it serves as a professional-level training platform for students, with faculty and prominent alumni regularly joining the ranks. The band performs at the annual DIG. jazz festival and other concerts at Helsinki's Musiikkitalo, and has hosted internationally renowned guest conductors and soloists such as Bob Mintzer, John Scofield and Vince Mendoza.
The Sibis Alumni Big Band is set to open the DIG. 2026 jazz festival at Musiikkitalo's Black Box on 7 October 2026, conducted by Ville Vannemaa, performing highlights from the big band's repertoire spanning 1983 to the present.
The DIG. 2026 festival concert at Musiikkitalo is framed as a tribute to the Jazz Finland 100 anniversary year, presenting Finnish jazz history and its future.
The Sibelius Academy Big Band took part in the Sibafest open-doors event at Musiikkitalo on 24 January 2026 with a free-entry big band jam session.
In April 2025, the Sibelius Academy jazz department's big band performed Herbie Hancock material at Musiikkitalo's Black Box, including arrangements by Jukkis Uotila and Bob Mintzer.
Sibelius Academy events drew a record audience of over 48,000 visitors in 2025, nearly 20% more than the previous year.
