Sara Pajunen is an interdisciplinary artist based in Minnesota/Helsinki, specializing in music and the sonic arts.

Her work blends ecological listening, improvisation, still and moving imagery, folk traditions, and archival material. Born into the immigrant culture of Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range (USA). Pajunen’s artistic practice is driven by the interchange between her ancestral roots, American cultural histories, and a deep connection to environments through sound. While questioning dominant American narratives, she searches for long-rhythm values, uncovers beauty and familiarity in the overlooked, and asks for deep attention to both inner and outer landscapes.

As a composer and improviser, Pajunen challenges conventional boundaries between noise and music, using sound to alter our perception of the physical world. She has studied composition and improvisation with Tanya Kalmanovitch, Anthony Coleman, and Ted Reichman and environmental recording with Chris Watson, Jez Riley French, and Jana Winderen. Longterm project Mine Songs: Sounding an Altered Landscape explores the transformed environment of the Mesabi Iron Range, investigating the fissure in our relationship with the earth and the complex stories we tell ourselves (or have been told) about history, power, identity, and agency. Works from Mine Songs have been presented on stage, in galleries, and as a 2024 audio album. A Mine Songs book of photography will be released in early 2027.

Steeped in both folk and classical music since childhood, Pajunen has studied folk traditions extensively in the Nordic countries [with Arto Järvelä and Ritva Talvitie (Finland), Benedicte Maurseth and Knut Hamre (Norway), and Mats Edén (Sweden)] and has released six audio albums that use traditional music in progressive yet reverent ways.

Pajunen has performed extensively in Europe and North America and audiovisual work has been shown in galleries around the Midwest. Pajunen’s work has received support from the Jerome Foundation, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Minnesota State Arts Board, Kone Foundation, New Music USA, American Scandinavian Foundation, and the Arts Council of Finland - amongst others. She holds classical music degrees in both the United States and Finland, and a Master of Music in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory.

Listen to WGBH interview here.
Other projects: Musika Medica | Aallotar | Laatikko/Box