Jari Mäenpää is a Finnish singer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. He is the founder of the melodic death metal band Wintersun for which he sings and records the majority of instruments except the drums. Before forming Wintersun, Mäenpää was also known for his role in the folk metal band Ensiferum, which he joined in 1996 after leaving his prior band named Immemorial. Wintersun was initially planned as a parallel project alongside Ensiferum, but in January 2004 he was forced to leave Ensiferum due to clashes between their touring schedule and the studio recording time he had booked for Wintersun.