Finnish contemporary folk group Värttinä will compose the music for the first stage musical adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of The Rings,” to premiere in London’s West End during spring 2005.

Directed by Matthew Warchus, the project concluded the band’s 20th anniversary with a bang-a year that has seen the international release of its 10th set, “iki,” and world touring.

The new set made No. 24 in leading world music magazine Songlines’ list of the “essential 50 global albums of all time.”

Värttinä has already started creating the music for “The Lord of the Rings” in conjunction with the show’s musical supervisor, Chris Nightingale. He will also collaborate on songs with Indian composer A. R. Rahman.

“After 20 years [in the business], Värttinä is more than ready for the challenge,” manager Phillip Page says.