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Saarikallio is internationally known as a music psychology researcher. She has done pioneering research on how music works as an emotional regulator and what kind of meaning it has in young people’s psycho-social development. “Music is a rich and multilevel world of experience – a fascinating window to humanity,” Saarikallio says.

Saarikallio’s methodological expertise derives from psychology – she holds the title docent in psychology and she is interested in music as human experience and activity. Nevertheless, Saarikallio has passion for a multidisciplinary approach and interdisciplinary dialogue. Her research involves close cooperation with the fields of education, music therapy, brain research, and computer science.

“Music education in Jyväskylä is unique,” Saarikallio says. “We are one of the leading music research units in the world examining music in a multidisciplinary fashion in terms of emotions, learning, interaction, and mental health – as an opportunity for human growth.

“For the development of our discipline,” Saarikallio says, “it is important to engage in dialogue not only with closely related fields of science, but also with our professional field.” She has acted as the vice-president of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music (ESCOM), and as the chair of the Finnish Society for Music Education (FiSME).

At present, Saarikallio is leading the five-year project MUSICONNECT, funded by the European Research Council. The project seeks to identify and quantify the bodily and emotional mechanisms through which music builds connections to our inner self and between each other.

Saarikallio is also one of the principal investigators of the Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain (MMBB) funded by the Academy of Finland as well as of the JYU profiling area “Social Sustainability for Children and Families” (SOSUS).

From 2018 to 2022, Saarikallio has acted as the vice head responsible for research at the Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies and also as Associate Professor of Music Education (2019–2022). Before this, she has worked at JYU in numerous research and teaching posts, for example as a senior assistant and an Academy Researcher. Saarikallio also graduated from Jyväskylä as a music subject teacher.

“In my opinion, music is a phenomenon much greater than it is itself,” Saarikallio says. “It helps us understand different levels of human existence from bodily synchronisation up to the construction of cultures. By means of science, we can open new doors so as to understand how art can be a resource for our society in the fields of education as well as in social and health care.”

Further information:

Suvi Saarikallio
+358 50 536 1900
suvi.saarikallio@jyu.fi