Beata Antikainen


Beata Antikainen (1993) is a Finnish cellist. She started to play the cello at the age of five as a student of Anja Maja. The studies continued in the Sibelius Academy‘s youth department with Hannu Kiiski and Marko Ylönen.

After finishing her bachelor studies in the Sibelius Academy, Antikainen moved to Berlin to study in the Hochschule für Musik ‚Hanns Eisler‘ in the class of Claudio Bohorquez. She also became a member in of the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic in 2020-2022.

Antikainen is a prize winner of the Finnish National Turku Cello Competition, the International Anton Rubinstein competition and the Peter Pirazzi Competition.

Antikainen is an active chamber musician and has performed in many festivals around the world such as Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Martha Argerich Festival, Helsinki Chamber Summer, Kultursommer Hessen, Avanti Summer Festival and ClasClas Festival. She is also the artistic director of the Hvitträsk Chamber Music Festival in Finland. She has worked with many musicians such as Guy Braunstein, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Amihai Grosz and Sunwook Kim to name a few.

As a soloist she has played with such orchestras as the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Helsinki Ensemble and Baden Baden Philharmonia.

She has received scholarships from the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Pro Musica Foundation and the Wegelius foundation.

Arsenyi Stavytskyi


Arsenii Stavytskyi was born in 2000 in Kyiv in a family of professional musicians.
In 2006—2010 Arsenii studied with Tamara Polyakova at Kiev Victor Kosenko Children’s Music School №3.
In 2010 Arsenii entered Kiev secondary special music school named after Lysenko to the class of professor assistant Еlena Tchervova.
In spring 2013 Arsenii won 1st prize at the Eugene Stankovych 2nd international competition in Kiev.
In July 2013 Arsenii performed in the EU as part of the « Wonderful Youth Orchestra ». During this tour Arsenii practiced with professor of Conservatory in Skopje Živko Firfov.
In 2013 Arsenii entered Kharkov secondary special boarding music school to the professor Elena Schelkanovtseva.
In 2016 Arsenii had solo and ensemble performances in Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Frankfurt-on-Maine, Keiserslautern, Weilrod-Hasselbach at the « Classic for Pease » II International festival.
In 2017 Arsenii entered Kharkov Kotlyarevsky the National University of the Arts.
Since 2022 Arsenii is non-degree student at London Performing music academy and Helsinki university of Arts named after J. Sibelius.

Since 2013 to 2017 Arsenii studied composition with honored art worker of Ukraine Ludmila Shukaylo.
In 2017 Arsenii won a first prize as a composer at the Kharkov Assamblies International competition.

In May 2018 Arsenii won the 1-st prize at the IV Sviatoslav Knushevitsky International cello competition in Saratov.

Since 2017, Arsenii have received grants from the charity foundation «VERE MUSIC FUND».
In September 2018 Arsenii took part at the international master classes in Kronberg (Germany).

In May 2019, Arseniy reached semifinal of the II International Cello Competition « CelloKlaipeda ».

In January 2020 Arsenii won the 3rd prize at the XII International Cello Competition named after Antonio Janigro (Zagreb, Croatia).
In May 2020, Arseniy won the Grand Prix of the first international online competition « Odesa Music Olymp ».

Arsenii have had lessons withMaria Bader-Kubizek, Gary Hoffman, Martti Rousi, Leonid Gorokhov, Anne Gastinel, Kirill Rodin, Attila Pasztor, Natalie Clein, Aleksey Shadrin, Eugene Lifschitz, Danjulo Ishizaka, Alexander Gebert and Ivan Skanavi.

Arsenii is the winner of a special prize from the association “Art without Borders” ( Basel).
Arsenii is a scholarship holder of the Rotary Clubs of Kharkiv, Dnipro and Austrian Rotary clubs, as well as a scholarship holder of the Kharkiv Mayor, named after I.I. Slatin, Liza Batiashvili foundation, “Musicians help musicians” festival and Mykola Khomych scholarships.
Arsenii studied conducting with Roman Uschapovskyi. Arsenii condacted Prokofieff symphony with the symphony orchestra of Kharkov the SSMS.

As a soloist Arsenii has played with such orchestras as Kharkiv philharmonic symphony orchestra, Kiev Camerata chamber orchestra, symphony orchestra of Kharkov secondary special music boarding school, «Slobozhansky» youth symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra of Rovno philharmonic, symphony orchestra of Kharkov M. Lysenko opera and ballet theatre and symphony orchestra of Kharkov I.P. Kotlyarevsky the national university of Arts, Zaporizhzha philarmomic symphony orchestra, Dnipropetrovsk philarmonic symphony orchestra.

Emilija Rozensteina


Emīlija is a Latvian cellist, however likes to think of Helsinki as her home. She started her studies in Riga and since then has competed in many national and international competitions. In 2014 she received the prestigious Knut Lesin’s award, allowing her to have a solo tour in USA and Canada. Nevertheless, her greatest achievement so far has been accepting and nourishing her artistic abilities with kindness and care with the help of the calm Helsinki surroundings, her teacher, her friends and her cat.

Currently Emīlija is a Master’s student of the Sibelius Academy, studying in prof. Martti Rousi’s class. Along with her studies, she is excited about producing different types of projects and teaching. So far in 2023, Emīlija has been the production manager of CelloFest and a part of three world premieres.

Lauri Rantamoijanen


Lauri Rantamoijanen began his cello studies at the age of seven at the Middle Finland Music School. In 1999 he began private studies with Heikki Rautasalo and Heikki Pekkarinen and two years later moved to the Sibelius Academy Youth Department. In 2005 Mr. Rantamoijanen started his studies at the Sibelius Academy’s performance program with Heikki Rautasalo and continued later with Marko Ylönen.

In March 2013 he played Graduate Recital with honors from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Lauri Rantamoijanen finished studies at the Sibelius Academy with Martti Rousi.

Mr. Rantamoijanen was a young soloist with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2003. In 2004 he was a Eurovision young soloists’ Finnish finalist.

As an active chamber musician, Lauri Rantamoijanen has played chamber music in various ensembles. His teachers include Frans Helmerson, Alban Berg Quartet and Ralf Gothoni amongst others. Lauri Rantamoijanen plays a cello by Francesco Ruggieri dated 1693.

Bruno Lima


Bruno Lima (b. 1996 in Maceió) is a cellist and composer from Brazil. He started to play the cello at the age of 16 in high school with Almir Medeiros, 2 years later he got accepted in the Bachelor’s Degree at the UFRN School of Music to study cello with Dr. Fabio Presgrave in Natal

He got his first musical notions from his father at the age of 4, then started playing the drums in the church from his hometown. Posteriorly, Lima started to play the saxophone and immersed in the world of Brazilian popular music and jazz, having then familiarity with improvisation and jazz harmony. Some years later he began to write arrangements for fun, which developed great interest in orchestration, traditional harmony and counterpoint.

Lima has been writing arrangements and compositions commissioned by some leading ensembles in South America, like the String Quartet of São Paulo, and his works have been played all over Brazil, also in the USA, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Italy, China, Finland, among others. Last August, some of his works were played at the KKL in the Lucerne Festival by the Illumina Ensemble, the same group who commissioned and recorded his arrangements of Bond’s « Troubled Water » and Schubert’s « Der Doppelgänger ». He was also arranger in residence of the Ilumina Festival 2022

As a cellist and active chamber musician, Lima has collaborated with several musicians such as Tai Murray, Julian Steckel, Jennifer Stumm, Liza Ferschtman, Anthony Marwood, Christian Poltéra, Lars Anders Tomter among others. He’s currently the cellist and founder of Ruska String Quartet and has a duo with guitarist Otto Kentala

In 2018, Lima won two First Prizes in national competitions: Young Soloist Competition by UFRN and 6th Youth Talent Competition – Mansueto Barbosa Trophy. Later in 2020, he was granted the Erasmus+ scholarship for an exchange program at the Sibelius Academy, which he got accepted in the Master’s program 1 year later to study cello with Erkki Lahesmaa and composition with Tapio Tuomela. In 2022, he received a scholarship from the Hilti Foundation and was granted a Cunault cello from the Sibelius Academy.

Iiris Tarnanen


Iiris Tarnanen is a musician and music educator living in Helsinki Finland. She works as a performer, composer, teacher, and producer. Her main instruments are the cello and voice, and she enjoys creating art where her skills are integrated. Iiris’s music has been described versatile, unique, and profound.

Recently, Iiris has worked with a radio documentary series Vankilataidetta for the Finnish National Radio Broadcast Company YLE. Her debut album The Day I Was Born, including 14 musicians and a variety of music genres, was released in March 2021 through record label Eclipse Music. Iiris teaches music to children at Music Theatre Kapsäkki and has participated in composing and performing theatre performances.

Iiris has a Bachelor’s degree in Global Music from University of the Arts, Helsinki, Sibelius Academy, as well as a degree from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences with Music Pedagogy

Iiris is passionate about diversity in music and life. She likes to take part in versatile projects including topics of equality, ecology, social well-being and science.

Kristina Winiarski


Kristina Winiarski (born in Stockholm, 1994) enjoys a versatile career as soloist and chamber musician around Europe, in combination with her position as solo cellist in the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. Her latest and upcoming season highlights include solo debuts with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Gävle Symphony Orchestra and the Nordic Chamber Orchestra, as well as musical collaborations with artists such as Martin Fröst, Gautier Capucon, Jorge Viladoms and Viviane Hagner, among others.

She has made recordings for BIS Records, medici.tv, Radio France and the Swedish Radio, and has been awarded with prizes such as the “Firmenich” prize at the Verbier Festival, and a first prize in the Swedish “Ung&Lovande” chamber music competition. Kristina graduated from Edsberg Music Institute / Royal College of Music in Stockholm in 2019 with Prof. Torleif Thedéen. Her other most influential mentors have been Valter Dešpalj, Frans Helmerson and Steven Isserlis. Kristina plays on the “Lynn Harrell” cello built by David Tecchler in Rome in 1711.

Josephine Knight


Josephine Knight’s highly acclaimed international career has spanned over 25 years performing in the world’s most renowned concert halls. Known for the great breadth of her activities and versatility as a soloist, chamber musician and as a pedagogue, Josephine has performed as a soloist with leading orchestras in the U.K. and abroad, working with distinguished conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Edward Gardner, Richard Hickox and Vasily Petrenko. In 2005 Josephine gave her BBC Proms concerto debut with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Jac van Steen.
She has recorded for EMI Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, Chandos, and Dutton Epoch. Her disc for Dutton Epoch featuring the Schumann and Piatti Cello Concertos (premiering her edition of Schumann’s Cello Concerto [Concertstück] published by Edition Peters), with the Royal Northern Sinfonia conducted by Martin Yates, attained global critical acclaim.  Following the success of her recording of John Tavener`s ` The Protecting Veil` which reached the Top Ten in the Classical Music Charts, Josephine subsequently gave the World Premiere and EMI recording of `Requiem` by Tavener, performing with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic conducted by Vasily Petrenko. More diverse collaborations have included recording with Nigel Kennedy, Paul McCartney and Madonna.

A sought-after chamber musician, Josephine has performed with many leading international artists including Daniel Hope, Maxim Vengerov, Lisa Batiashvili, Wu Han, Menahem Pressler, Michael Tree, and the Emerson and Takács Quartets. She regularly appears at international festivals such as Aldeburgh, Bath, Cheltenham, Gstaad, Mecklenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Salzburg, Schloss Elmau, Savannah, and Stavanger, and has performed numerous times at the Wigmore Hall and the Southbank Centre.

Josephine has received many honours including being elected a Fellow of both the Royal Academy of Music and Wells Cathedral School. She holds the Alfredo Piatti Chair at the Royal Academy of Music where she is Professor of Cello.

Josephine`s edition of Schumann`s Concerto (Concertstück) for cello and orchestra is the first ever publication of the original version which is published by Edition Peters. 

Josephine plays on a 1728 Johannes Guidantus cello purchased from Florian Leonhard.

Leonardo Chiodo


Leonardo Chiodo, born in Helsinki in 1998, is a Finnish cellist with multinational background. He currently studies at the Reina Sofía School of Music with Cello Chair, Professor Ivan Monighetti.
Leonardo received his first cello lesson in 2008. He began studies in the Sibelius Academy Junior Academy in 2010, studying with lecturer Hannu Kiiski until 2015, then continuing with chair professor Martti Rousi. Following his success in national and international competitions, he was invited for lessons with Frans Helmerson at the Kronberg Academy (Germany). In autumn 2019 he began his studies with Ivan Monighetti in Basel (Switzerland) and in 2020 Leonardo moved to Madrid to continue studies with Prof. Monighetti at the Reina Sofía School of Music

Despite his success in competitions, Mr. Chiodo has maintained his main focus on studies. He has attended international masterclasses by most distinguished Professors such as Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Jens Peter Maintz, David Geringas, Arto Noras, Pieter Wispelwey, Alban Gerhardt, Niklas Schmidt, Claudio Bohorquez, Jiang Wang, Young Chang Cho, Enrico Bronzi, Ola Karlsson, Morten Zeuthen, Nils Ullner, Anssi Karttunen, Young-Hoon Song, Chu Yi-Bing, Emanuel Gruber, Asier Polo, Ralf Gothóni, Oliver Wille, among others.
He has performed in Finland, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Denmark, Norway, China and Russia.
As member of the quartet “Cuarteto Albéniz de Prosegur” he was awarded the ESMRS Mention to the most outstanding chamber group in the category of string quartets in 2021. The award was personally handed by the Queen Mother Reina Sofia of Spain.

Daniel Schultz


Daniel Schultz (b. 1999 in Helsinki) has been studying cello at the Sibelius-Academy since 2018. Previously he studied at the youth department (Junior Academy) with Hannu Kiiski as his teacher. Since autumn 2020 his teacher is professor Martti Rousi. He started his cello studies with Jonas Franzon at Sandels Music School.
Daniel has performed as a soloist for orchestras such as the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Wegelius Chamber Strings and Bulevardin kamarimusiikkiseura (Chamber Orchestra).
Daniel took part in the Finnish National Cellocompetion Turun sellokilpailu in August 2022 where he received third prize.

Daniel´s instrument is an Italian Gabrielli cello built in 1752 owned by Kulturfonden.
Alongside his studies Daniel has been teaching cello playing at Sandels Music School in Helsinki.
In his spare time Daniel enjoys spending time with his friends and singing in Akademiska Sångföreningen, a male choir in Helsinki.

Sydney Lee


Soloist, collaborative artist, and passionate arts educator, cellist Sydney Lee is quickly gaining recognition as an emerging young artist captivating audiences on the international stage. Since her solo debut at age 13 with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Sydney has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia in many of the world’s leading venues, including the Kennedy Center, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, and Konzerthaus Berlin.
Renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber praised her performance with the Armenian Symphony State Orchestra, “Sydney Lee’s playing of Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante was mesmerizing. She surmounted all of its technical challenges with ease and gave us a joyous musical experience. It was a performance to treasure.”
Most recently, Sydney was awarded the inaugural $50,000 Gurrena Fellowship from the Meadowmount School of Music. Additional accolades include 1st prize at the International Antonio Janigro Cello Competition in Croatia, 1st prize at the 2022 Washington International Competition, and 2nd prize at the Classic Strings International Competition.

An avid chamber musician, Sydney is the founder of the Galvin Cello Quartet, which has been rapidly building an international profile after winning the silver medal at the 2021 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and joining the Concert Artists Guild roster as winners of the 2022 Victor Elmaleh Competition.
Engagements this season include performances with the Avanti Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, CelloFest in Helsinki, Finland, and a residency at the University of Tennessee Knoxville which includes a recital performance, master class and juror for the University’s concerto competition.
Sydney currently serves on the Board of Directors and Social Media Manager at The Back to Bach Project Charitable Foundation. The Foundation is a global initiative to inspire young children through arts education and community engagement.
A native of New York City, Sydney is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music and Northwestern University, where she studied with Carter Brey, Peter Wiley, and Hans Jorgen Jensen. She is pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern with Hans Jorgen Jensen. Other past influential teachers include Richard Aaron, Sophie Shao, Julie Albers, Minhye Clara Kim, and was mentored by acclaimed cellist Lynn Harrell. Sydney currently plays on an Antonio Casini cello on a generous loan from Christoph Landon Rare Violins
Sydney enjoys creating lifestyle content through vlogging where she shares her travels, life as a musician, surviving the Chicago winters, love of all things pink, and driving a dune buggy across the desert in Dubai desert.

Tara Valkonen


Tara Valkonen’s career in music began with playing cello at the age of six, and soon she was imagining her future as a professional cellist – and a sculptor. But picking up her elder brother’s guitar at the age of 13 brought a change, and although she didn’t abandon cello playing, it was rock music now that became the main interest in her life for some years – all until she heard Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie that conquered her mind making her passionately interested in contemporary art music.

Currently Tara is pursuing her master’s degree in composition in the Sibelius Academy under the guidance of Veli-Matti Puumala. Her studies and work have been kindly supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Sibelius Academy Foundation, Arts Promotion Centre Finland and Greta, William Lehtinen Foundation and The Finnish Music Foundation.

Andreas Brantelid


Andreas Brantelid was born in Copenhagen in 1987 to Swedish/Danish parents. After receiving early tuition from his father Ingemar, Andreas made his soloist debut at the age of 14 in a performance of the Elgar concerto with the Royal Danish Orchestra in Copenhagen. Today, Andreas is one of the most sought-after performing artists from Scandinavia, winning worldwide critical acclaim for his ability to make the music not only sound, but both speak, dance and sing.
Highlights of recent orchestra engagements include appearances with the London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, BBC Symphony, and BBC Philharmonic Orchestras, Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Yomiyuri Nippon Symphony, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Radio Symphony, Hamburger Symphoniker, Orchestre des Champs-Elysées, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Munich Chamber Orchestra, as well as all the major orchestras in the Nordic countries. He has worked with many distinguished conductors including Andris Nelsons, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Philippe Herreweghe, Vasily Petrenko, Thomas Dausgaard, Pablo Heras-Casado, Andrew Manze, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Robin Ticciati, and Heinrich Schiff.

Among the musicians who inspired and strongly influenced Andreas are pianist Bengt Forsberg and violinist Nils-Erik Sparf, both of whom Andreas has played with since 2002 in different chamber music formats. Andreas has also collaborated with artists such as Daniel Barenboim, Gidon Kremer, Joshua Bell, Vadim Repin, Nikolaj Znaider, Lawrence Power and Paul Badura-Skoda.

Recently he has formed a trio with Austrian violinist Benjamin Schmid and Norwegian pianist Christian Ihle Hadland.
Andreas plays the 1707 ‘Boni-Hegar’ Stradivarius, which has been made available to him by the generous support of Norwegian art collector Christen Sveaas. Andreas Brantelid lives with his wife and four daughters in Nærum near Copenhagen.

Michał Balas


Born in 2001 in Kraków, Poland, Michał Balas is a student of Musik Akademie Basel, Switzerland. He is studying with Prof. Danjulo Ishizaka. 

He is a laureate of many international cello competitions. His biggest success is winning the First Prize and a Special Prize for the best interpretation of a piece by maltese composer during the “Classic Strings Competition” in Dubai (May, 2022), followed by a European Tour consisting of 10 performances with orchestras. His other achievements are receiving the First Price and a Special Prize for the best performance of the mandatory composition at the “Johansen International Competition for Young Strings Players” in Washington DC (2018) and the Grand Prix with a title “Polish Cello Personality 2021” during the “Dominik Połoński Cello Competition” in Łódź, Poland (2021). Michał was also nominated to a prestigious “Coryphaeus of Polish Music Award” in the category “Discovery of the Year” (2021).

His successes allowed him to perform as a soloist and chamber musician in great concert halls, such as: in Berliner Philharmonie, Grosser Saal of Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Smetana Hall in Prague, Krzysztof Penderecki Center for Music in Lusławice, Kraków Philharmonic, Kielce Philharmonic, Łódź Philharmonic, just to name a few.

Michał had the chance to share the stage with North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Kammerorchester Pfortzheim, Apollo Orchestra, Sinfonia Iuventus, Savaria Symphony Orchestra, Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, among others.

He had the chance to participate in many Masterclasses with renowned musicians and professors, such as: Prof. Robert Levin, Steven Isserlis, Prof. Arto Noras, Prof. Laurence Lesser, Prof. Claudio Martinez-Mehner, Prof. Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Prof. Xavier Gagnepain, Prof. Rainer Schmidt, Prof. Andras Kemenes, Musicians of the Sharoun Ensamble, to name a few.

Michał Balas is involved in performing chamber music, just as much as he is involved in pursuing solo carrier. In 2020, with a pianist Mikołaj Woźniak, he created an Ensamble “Duo Balas/Woźniak”. Main goal of this collaboration is striving for accurate and honest interpretations of chamber music pieces. The Duo had the chance to perform on many international festivals, mainly in Spain, Switzerland and Poland. String Quartets and Piano Trios are also among Michał’s interests.

He is a recipient of LYRA Stiftung, “Young Poland”, and is a scholar of Musik Academie Basel. 

He performs on an instrument made by a french manufacture Michel Ange Garini from 1870.

Senja Rummukainen


Senja Rummukainen was awarded the 6th prize in the international Tchaikovsky Competition in 2019. Few years before she won the 1st prize in the national Turku Cello Competition in 2014 and was a finalist in the international Guilhermina Suggia Prize in Portugal.

She is a regular guest at various music festivals such as the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Turku Music Festival, Oulu Music Festival and RUSK Chamber Music Festival. Rummukainen has played as a soloist with orchestras such as the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, and the most important Finnish orchestras such as the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Pori Sinfonietta, Kuopio, Joensuu and Vaasa Orchestras with renowned conductors like Valery Gergiev, Leif Segerstam, Jorma Panula and Petri Sakari.

In 2017 she became the II principal cellist of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also played as a guest principal cello in the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Rummukainen is one of the artistic directors of ”Kamarikesä” festival together with Johannes Piirto, Kasmir Uusitupa, Tami Pohjola and Riina Piirilä.

Senja Rummukainen is currently finishing her Master’s degree at the Universität der Künste Berlin with professor Jens-Peter Maintz. Before that she has studied with Truls Mørk at the Norwegian Academy of Music, Young-Chang Cho at the Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen, Marko Ylönen at the Sibelius Academy and Taru Aarnio and Allar Kaasik at the East Helsinki Music Institute. Senja has participated masterclasses with professors such as David Geringas, Reinhard Latzko and Wolfgang Boettcher.

Her instrument is a cello by Stefano Scarampella (1897), generously loaned to her by Jorma Panula.

Suomalainen sellisti Senja Rummukainen nousi suuren yleisön tietoisuuteen vuonna 2019, kun hänet palkittiin kansainvälisessä Tšaikovski-kilpailussa kuudennella palkinnolla. Muutamaa vuotta aiemmin hän voitti myös ensimmäisen palkinnon Turun XII sellokilpailussa sekä oli yksi kolmesta finalistista Guilhermina Suggia Prize -kilpailussa Portugalissa.

Rummukainen on kysytty vieras merkittävimmillä suomalaisilla festivaaleilla ja esiintyy säännöllisesti mm. Kuhmon kamarimusiikissa, Turun musiikkijuhlilla, RUSK-festivaalilla Pietarsaaressa sekä Oulun musiikkijuhlilla.

Solistina Rummukainen on esiintynyt mm. Mariinski-teatterin orkesterin, Pietarin filharmonikoiden, Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Músican sekä tärkeimpien suomalaisten orkesterien, kuten Helsingin kaupunginorkesterin, Tampere Filharmonian, Turun filharmonisen orkesterin, Keski-Pohjanmaan kamariorkesterin, Pori Sinfoniettan sekä Kuopion, Joensuun ja Vaasan kaupunginorkesterien kanssa monien aikamme suurien kapellimestarien kanssa, joista mainittakoon mm. Valeri Gergijev, Leif Segerstam, Jorma Panula ja Petri Sakari.

Rummukainen valittiin Helsingin kaupunginorkesterin 2. soolosellistiksi vuonna 2017 ja on myös toiminut vierailevana soolosellistinä Oslon filharmonisessa orkesterissa.
Hän on yksi Helsingissä järjestettävän Kamarikesä-festivaalin taiteellisista johtajista yhdessä Johannes Piirron, Kasmir Uusituvan, Tami Pohjolan ja Riina Piirilän kanssa.

Rummukainen viimeistelee maisteriopintojaan Berliinin Taideyliopistossa professori Jens-Peter Maintzin luokalla. Hänen aikaisempia opettajiaan ovat olleet Truls Mørk Norjan musiikkikorkeakoulussa, Young-Chang Cho Essenin Folkwang-yliopistossa, Marko Ylönen Sibelius-Akatemiassa sekä Taru Aarnio Itä-Helsingin musiikkiopistossa.

Rummukaisen instrumentti on Stefano Scarampella-sello vuodelta 1897, jonka hänen käyttöönsä on ystävällisesti antanut Jorma Panula.

Tatu Kauppinen


Tatu Kauppinen (b. 2000 in Helsinki) started playing the cello at the age of seven at the Central Helsinki Music Institute. During most of his teenage years he studied with Hannu Kiiski and Marko Ylönen at the Sibelius Academy Junior Department, and later on he studied at the Sibelius Academy as a degree student, finishing his bachelor’s degree in 2022. Following his graduation from the Sibelius Academy, he joined the class of Professor Natalie Clein at the Hochshule für Musik und Theater Rostock.
Kauppinen achieved great success in the national Turku Cello Competition in 2022, winning 1st prize, audience prize, as well as the special prize for best performance of the commissioned work « Sitka », composed by Olli Virtaperko for the competition.

Kauppinen is a passionate chamber musician, and he performs regularly at various festivals, including Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Turku Music Festival, Kauniainen Music Festival and Kokkolan SyysKamari. As soloist, he has performed with orchestras such as Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, Wegelius Chamber String Orchestra and Uuden Ajan Ensemble. He has also played as a guest cellists in many orchestras, such as Berliner Philharmoniker and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.Kauppinen lives currently in Berlin. From February 2023 onwards he is a member of the Karajan-Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker. In 2023, he will return to many festivals as recitalist and chamber musician, frequently collaborating with pianist David Munk-Nielsen.

Jonathan Roozeman


Finnish-Dutch cellist and rising star, Jonathan Roozeman is already establishing himself as a player of exceptional musical integrity. His phenomenal, expansive, and versatile sound lends itself not only to works of the core classical repertory, but those by Kabalevsky, Kokkonen and Vieuxtemps amongst others. He has regular collaborations with conductors including Christoph Eschenbach, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo Vänskä, Dima Slobodeniouk, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Santtu-Matias Rouvali.

In the 2022/23 season, Roozeman collaborates with the choreographer, Saburo Teshigawara, on a production at the Aichi Prefectural Art Theater Concert Hall in Nagoya based around solo works by Bach, Kodaly and Cassado. He will also be performing at the ARK Classics Festival in Tokyo. He will work with acclaimed orchestras such as Tampere Philharmonic/ Matthew Halls, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra/Julien Masmondet, returns to the Gulbenkian Foundation while also making his recital debut at the Concertgebouw with pianist, Varvara.

In recital he has appeared at the Berlin Konzerthaus as part of Sir András Schiff’s residency, as well as giving a debut recital tour in Canada which included the prestigious Vancouver Recital Series. Other highlights include London’s Baroque at the Edge festival and the Ark Hills Festival in Tokyo.

In previous seasons Jonathan has given a series of performances of Mania by Esa-Pekka Salonen as part of a project between the Sibelius Academy and the Juilliard School of Music under the baton of the composer in Helsinki, at the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm and at New York’s Lincoln Center.

The youngest prize winner at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015, Roozeman also became a finalist at the Naumburg International Cello Competition in the same year. He was a finalist at the Porto Premio Suggia in 2013 as well as reaching the semi-finals of the International Paulo Cello competition in Finland and taking second prize at the National Cello Competition in The Netherlands in 2012.

Roozeman was previously a student of Martti Rousi at the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki and graduated in July 2020 from the Kronberg Academy under Frans Helmerson. He plays a David Tecchler cello c.1707 on loan from the Finnish Cultural Foundation and his bow was made by Jean Pierre Marie Persoit in Paris, c.1850.

Marguerite La Rosée


Classical Cellist Marguerite La Rosée is a emerging young artist who is establishing a reputation as a musician with “an admirable sincerity and musical sensibility”. Her playing has been praised for its “authenticity, elegance, and warmth” and is “full of fantasy, colour and feeling”.

Marguerite engages with a multitude of repertoire and enjoys playing as a soloist, chamber musician and in orchestra. A highlight of 2022 has been performing John Adams Harmonielehre with the Academy Symphony orchestra under John Wilson. Besides the classical repertoire Marguerite has a special interest in improvisation and is curious to explore new concert formats and settings. In April 2022 Marguerite composed the music for the 2020-Teaparty show by French-belgium artist Elise de Falletans at Central Saint Martins in London. The year 2022 also was marked by the founding of her art and music driven initiative AHR-AT-HEART www.ahratheart.com with which she fundraised for people affected by the century flood in western Germany.

Marguerite is indebted to many esteemed cellists for their guidance and influence. She has participated in masterclasses with cellists such as Nadége Rochat, Sung-Won Yang, Guy Johnston, Peter Bruns, David Geringas, Troels Svane, Laszlo Fenyö, Alexander Gebert, Xenia Jankovic and Martti Rousi.

The young cellist is a scholarship holder of the Konrad-Adenauer foundation who generously support her throughout her studies and has won several 1st and 2nd prizes in the german national youth competition “Jugend Musiziert”.

Born and raised in various different places mainly in Germany, she received her first cello lessons at the age of six. Following to her studies in Weimar, Trossingen and Zurich she is currently completing the final year of her Bachelor at the Royal Academy of Music in London under the guidance of Robert Cohen. Marguerite plays a modern cello made by Jürg Buchwalder in 2020.

Sujari Britt


Sujari Britt showed her prodigious talent and uncanny devotion to and understanding of music from a very early age.  She began formal study of the cello at age four, following her study on the violin, and piano.

Sujari earned her Bachelor’s of Music in Classical Cello Performance at Manhattan School of Music in the studio of noted pedagogue Marion Feldman. Sujari presently studies with renowned cellist and pedagogue Martti Rousi, Sibelius Academy in pursuit of  her Master’s of Classical Cello Performance.

For Spring 2018, Sujari was featured in the annual Beijing Super Cello Festival,  Beijing China. In addition, Sujari accepted a speaking invitation by C2 Montreal  for the 2018 « Transformative Collisions ». In Fall 2017, Sujari  delivered a solo concert sponsored by Marietta College for the annual Esbenshade Series at People’s Bank Theatre, Marietta, Ohio. In Spring 2016 Sujari was featured in Canada’s Neopolitan Connection Concert Series. She performed solo with Memphis Symphony Orchestra in November 2015, solo with the Chicago Sinfonietta in January 2015, and opened the 2014-15 season with Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra as soloist in their Classics Series. Sujari was featured at the UN’s international HeforShe in September 2014, and she presented at Madison Square Garden during quarter time for the NY Knicks in January. In October 2013 Sujari was a featured artist for the Shakespeare Company’s annual gala honoring Elizabeth McGovern at the Harman Arts Center in Washington, DC. Also in the 2013 season, Sujari performed at the United Nations for 2013 annual World Humanitarian Day on August 19th. Sujari served as the featured guest performer for the Adrian Symphony Orchestra Casual Classic Concert in May 2012. In May 2011 Sujari was the featured artist at the 28th Annual Children’s Concert for the Gary Historic and Cultural Society in Gary, Indiana. In 2010, Sujari closed  the 11th Annual International Tropical Baroque Music Festival of the Miami Bach Society in Coral Gables, Florida, and in April, she performed at Carnegie’s Weill Hall as a winner of the National Young Musicians Concerto Competition. She was invited as a guest performer at the Fifth Annual Midori and Friends Children’s Music Festival where she shared the progamme with Midori and with renowned clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera. In November 2009, Sujari had the honor of performing with Alisa Weilerstein at the White House for President Obama, the First Lady, and their distinguished guests, where she was brought to the attention of many notables in the classical music industry.

Sujari was featured in Strings Magazine Fall 2015, and was StayThirsty Winter 2014 Spotlight Artist to watch! Sujari also was featured in an on-line THKR/RadicalMedia PRODIGIES, a TIME for Kids/Time Magazine article, Ebony.com and a segment of Katie! with Katie Couric. Sujari joined a host of prodigious young movers of the world on TEDx-Redmond of TED Talks, and was featured as one of NBC TheGrio’s “100 History Makers in the Making.”

Sujari serves in the Arts Leadership Program of From the Top. She is the distinguished recipient of prestigious academic scholarships and awards, and grand prize winner of numerous national and international competitions. 

In addition to being a member of JoSunJari, a classical string trio with her sister Joelle (violin), and her brother Sunnaj (violin); Sujari is a member of various troupes and ensembles of classical, jazz, and eccelctic genres. Of note, Sujari is a member of Aziza and the Cure, a self-styled symphonic-soul-pop band co-founded by her sister Joelle; and the Harlem Chamber Players, a local classical ensemble.

Sujari has participated in international and local summer music festivals including Manhattan in the Mountains, JVL International Music Festival, New York University String Camp, Greenwood Music Festival, Gateway Music Festival, and Kaufman String Camp and Hartt School of Music World Cultural programs (Prague, Budapest, Italy).

Alban Gerhardt


Having launched his career with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Semyon Bychkov in 1991, Alban Gerhardt has since gained recognition as one of the most versatile cellists, highly regarded for his performances, from solo Bach through the classical and romantic canon to collaborations with several contemporary composers.

For over thirty years, he has made a unique impact on audiences worldwide with his intense musicality, compelling stage presence and insatiable artistic curiosity. His gift for shedding fresh light on familiar scores, along with his appetite for investigating new repertoire from centuries past and present, truly set him apart from his peers.

Notable orchestra collaborations include Concertgebouw Amsterdam, all of the British and German radio orchestras, Berliner Philharmoniker, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre National de France as well as The Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago symphony orchestras, under conductors such as Christoph von Dohnányi, Kurt Masur, Klaus Mäkelä, Christian Thielemann, Simone Young, Susanna Mälkki, Vladimir Jurowski and Andris Nelsons.

Gerhardt has a very wide repertoire, including all the core concertos, and at the same time is the go-to soloist for contemporary composers. He most recently premiered Julian Anderson’s concerto with Orchestre National de France, following on from the success of his performances of Brett Dean’s concerto premiered with Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Berliner Philharmoniker and played with New York Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra amongst others. The upcoming season’s highlights include Minnesota Orchestra/Heras-Casado, Spanish National Orchestra/​Young, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/​V. Petrenko, and Orquestra Gulbenkian. He will also perform the Asian premiere of the Anderson concerto with Hong Kong Sinfonietta.

Tomass Ancs


Born in Latvia and raised in an all-musician family, Tomas’s childhood summers were spent listening to his great uncle, well known Latvian cellist Māris Villerušs, practicing in their summer house. Influenced by his family, Tomass started to attend music school and as the years went by, he gained knowledge and won prizes throughout various international masterclasses and competitions.

Currently, Tomass continues his Master’s degree studies at the Sibelius Academy with Martti Rousi.

But his love to cello doesn’t stop only with classical music. During recent years he has also performed concerts with famous Latvian and international pop/rock music singers and instrumentalists, which has only inspired him to experiment with the cello and find his own way to express himself. Recently Tomass released his debut album with his cello rock band “Chairmen” which consists of his compositions in an experimental rock style. “It is something different of what a cellist usually does on the stage, but why not have fun being a little weird?”