Researcher
Music | Ethnomusicology | Organology | Design
Searching & (re)searching
I am a musician, instrument maker, and researcher working at the intersection of music, ethnomusicology, organology, and design.
For over twenty years, my work has combined historical research, fieldwork, instrument study, workshop-based experimentation, and musical performance, with a focus on bagpipes and related traditions across Atlantic Europe and the Baltic Sea region.
My research approach is practice-based and design-led. Instruments are not treated as abstract historical objects, but as tools shaped through use, performance, and material experimentation.
I hold a Master’s degree in Architecture and am completing a doctoral degree in Music at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki.
Research Context: Finland and the Baltic Sea
Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, have managed to bring back alive their own piping traditions.
Why hasn’t Finland done the same yet?
A Laboratory in Helsinki
I am based in Helsinki, where I maintain a workshop and research environment combining instrument making, measurement, prototyping, and performance.
This laboratory-based practice allows historical research and material experimentation to feed directly into the construction of high-quality instruments for professional use, which forms the core of my research methodology.
Finnish Bagpipe Research
Sibelius Academy • University of the Arts Helsinki
The Redesign of the Säkkipilli in Finland
My doctoral research focuses on the Finnish Säkkipilli and questions the widespread assumption that Finland lacks a bagpipe tradition.
Drawing on archaeological evidence, historical sources, museum collections, and comparative study across the Baltic Sea region, this work reframes the Säkkipilli as part of a broader Northern and Baltic piping ecology.
A central outcome of this research has been the redesign and construction of playable Säkkipilli instruments, developed for contemporary musicians and performance contexts.
From Finnd’it to Säkkipilli
Finnd’it.org was established as a public-facing research initiative to support the documentation and surveying of historical evidence related to the Säkkipilli and Finnish piping traditions.
Originally conceived as an open framework connecting musicians, researchers, institutions, and citizens, the initiative encouraged the sharing of findings and international exchange across the Baltic region.
This work is now being developed into Säkkipilli.org, a dedicated platform for the documentation, research, redesign, and contemporary practice of the Finnish bagpipe.
Collaborations
My research work often develops through collaboration with musicians, institutions, museums, and academic or artistic partners.
I am open to research collaboration, institutional projects, and long-term initiatives related to instrument research, design-led inquiry, and performance-based knowledge.
Featuring now
The latest news about my research work
Torupill | Bagpipes in the Estonian Museums
Estonia appears today as the richest bagpipe territory, to be bathed by the baltic sea. Although the Torupill (Estonian bagpipe) has suffered an extinction process at the beginning of the 20th century, the efforts of musicians, from the 70s onwards, on recovering this...
Bagpipe festival in Estonia | Torupilli Festival
I have been invited to visit Estonia and attend the Torupilli Festival at Viljandi, on the past 23th September. The event is held in March but the organizers were forced to reschedule to September, due to Covid-19 restrictions. It is an familiar event, where one can...
Quarenta Podcast with Ilkka Heinonen
Ilkka Heinonen, is a Finnish musician best known for his groundbreaking work on performing the Jouhikko, an almost forgotten version of the bowed lyre. He’s a Master graduate of Folk music from the Sibelius Academy - University of the Arts Helsinki, with an extensive...
Address
Helsinki – Finland
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+358 45 251 87 27
Info@GoncaloCruz.com