Armas Launis

Armas Launis (April 22, 1884 – August 7, 1959), was a Finnish composer as well as an ethnomusicologist, a professor, a writer and a journalist.

His numerous publications and the corpus he collected are still recognized and used; they are valuable additions to the common inheritance of the Finnish nation.

Launis earned a Ph.D. (1911) and was full professor at the University of Helsinki where he taught musical analysis and composition.

Deeply concerned with the availability of musical education for everyone, Launis founded and until 1930 directed the first popular conservatories in Finland, which still exist.

Anxious to maintain contact with his homeland, Launis regularly contributed to various Finnish newspapers including Helsingin Sanomat, Uusi Suomi, and Suomen Kuvalehti.