Artists
Irina Ala-Opas
Born in St. Petersburg, Irina Ala Opas is among the leading Finnish organists. She works as a lecturer in church music at the Kuopio unit of the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, teaching liturgical music and organ improvisation – although in 2026 she will devote the year full time to motherhood with her young baby.
Ala-Opas performs actively and in a wide variety of roles: as a soloist, chamber musician, accompanist, and occasionally as a member of orchestras, both in Finland and internationally.
Baroque Ensemble All’Improviso
The baroque ensemble All’Improviso is known for its shared improvisation, music created spontaneously in the moment. Characteristic of the ensemble is the use of so called “grounds” – bass driven chord progressions that are often compact yet highly adaptable.In autumn 2020, Parhaat Groundit (“The Best Grounds”), a music booklet by Pilvi Listo was published, compiling some of these central early baroque “riffs.” The booklet’s online release concert in November 2020 marked the ensemble’s first, but certainly not last, journey into the world of grounds! The ensemble has performed widely across Finland.The ensemble’s musicians Pekka Silén (recorders), Olli Hyyrynen (lute and guitar), and Pilvi Listo Tervaportti (harpsichord and organ) are all prominent figures in the Finnish early music scene. They also work as pedagogues in music institutes and organise a wide variety of musical activities in many contexts and ensembles. The ensemble members have also published recordings, which are all available to be purchased after the concert.
Jutta Holmberg
Dramatic soprano Jutta Holmberg graduated with a Master of Music degree from the Sibelius Academy Opera Department in 2006. She has performed in Hong Kong, Austria, Portugal, Estonia, and France in lied recitals, as an orchestral soloist, and in opera.
Her roles include the First Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Tatiana and Larina in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Leonora in Verdi’s Il trovatore, Lotte in Lyytikäinen’s Helsinkiin opera, and Puccini’s Tosca. Her current repertoire includes Wagner’s Brünnhilde, Puccini’s Turandot, and Verdi’s Lady Macbeth.
Holmberg performs actively in lied concerts and as an oratorio soloist. She was the 2019 grant recipient of the Päivi and Paavo Lipponen Foundation. In 2006, the Finnish Wagner Society awarded her the Bayreuth Scholarship. In 2004 she received a special prize at the National Lappeenranta Singing Competition. Holmberg works as a vocal pedagogue at several institutions. In her free time, she enjoys reading and long-distance running.
Kirill Kozlovski
Kirill Kozlovski studied piano at the Lyceum of the Belarusian State Academy of Music, the Sibelius Academy, and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He studied baroque music and harpsichord at Novia University of Applied Sciences and the Sibelius Academy. Kozlovski earned his Doctor of Music degree in 2017 and works as a lecturer at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki. He has performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Stockholm Concert Hall, Festspielhaus Baden Baden, and Symphony Hall Birmingham. He has appeared as a soloist with the Helsinki, Lappeenranta, Kuopio, Joensuu, and Oulu City Orchestras, the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
He performs regularly as a lied pianist in Finland and abroad with, among others, Jorma Hynninen, Ekaterina Gubanova, Monica Groop, Mika Kares, Miina Liisa Värelä, Iida Antola, Tuomas Katajala, and Jenni Lättilä. Kozlovski has premiered works by numerous Finnish contemporary composers and recorded extensively, including works by Richard Wagner, Dmitri Shostakovich, Yuri Shaporin, and Toivo Kuula, some together with soprano Jenni Lättilä.
Marika Leino
Marika Leino has studied piano since early childhood in Vaasa, Kokkola, Jyväskylä, and Helsinki. Her teachers include Liisa Soinne, Carlos Juris, and Carlos Turriago. In 2000 she graduated as a music pedagogue (piano teacher) from the Central Finland Conservatory.Upon entering the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, she changed her main instrument to the organ. During the 2003–2004 academic year she studied in Copenhagen at the Royal Danish Academy of Music under Professor Hans Fagius as a Nordplus scholar. Leino completed her A level organ performance diploma with highest honours at the Sibelius Academy in 2006 under Professor Kari Jussila.She participated actively in masterclasses in Finland and abroad and competed internationally during her studies. In 2007 Leino graduated with a Master of Music degree from the Sibelius Academy’s Department of Church Music, also studying singing, harpsichord, and choral conducting. Since 2007, Marika Leino has served as church musician in Kulosaari and Herttoniemi.
Kirsi Lemponen
Soprano Kirsi Lemponen graduated as a Master of Music from the Sibelius Academy’s Department of Church Music in 1989. She studied voice under Raili Kostia and completed both the A level singing diploma and the voice pedagogy qualification in 1990.Lemponen has appeared as a vocal soloist throughout Finland as well as in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Germany, Hungary, Russia, and Canada. Kirsi Lemponen has worked as a cantor and choir director in Herttoniemi Parish since 1990.
Sirkku-Liisa Niemi
Sirkku-Liisa Niemi is versatile musician who, after studying at the Sibelius Academy, has worked as a teacher, event organizer, host, and church musician – primarily in Vantaa. In 2024, she was named an honorary member of Organum Society for her contributions to organ music. Nowadays, Sirkku-Liisa makes music along the metro track, in St. Matthew’s Parish in Helsinki.
Liisalotta Lepistö
Liisalotta Lepistö completed her Master of Music degree in church music at the Sibelius Academy in 2024, focusing on organ performance and choral conducting. She is also a graduate of the Helsinki Conservatory’s vocational musician training program, majoring in piano.
She has furthered her studies through numerous masterclasses in piano, organ, and lied repertoire. Liisalotta began her position as cantor in Vuosaari Parish in spring 2025 and was appointed cantor of Mäntsälä Parish in spring 2026, where she will take up her post in August 2026.
Leevi Lipponen
Organist Leevi Lipponen, originally from Juuka in North Karelia, studied organ at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and completed his A level organ diploma in 2024 under Markku Hietaharju. Lipponen is currently pursuing a Konzertexamen degree at the Hochschule für Musik Saar in Germany, studying with Vincent Dubois, principal organist of Notre Dame Cathedral.
Lipponen has participated in numerous masterclasses and performed at major Finnish music festivals as well as at the Toulouse International Organ Competition. In May 2024, he premiered Artturi Rönkä’s Chants as soloist with the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra on the Rieger organ at the Helsinki Music Centre. In September 2025, he gave his debut concert at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Since 2021 he has served as artistic director of the Juuka Music Festival, which he founded. His repertoire spans from baroque to contemporary music, with a particular passion for French symphonic organ music from the 19th century to the present day.
Joel Madetoja
Joel Madetoja is principal double bass of the Joensuu City Orchestra, with which he has also appeared as a soloist. He graduated from the Sibelius Academy of the University of Arts and particularly enjoys performing contemporary repertoire for the double bass.
Joonas Minkkinen
Helsinki based organist, harpsichordist, and pianist Joonas Minkkinen is completing his studies in church music at the Sibelius Academy of the University of Arts. He has worked as a rehearsal pianist and accompanist for numerous choirs and served as rehearsal pianist for Opera Box’s production of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten.Minkkinen currently works as acting cantor at Helsinki Cathedral Parish and serves as Deputy Artistic Director of the Finnish Vocal Society. He is also a founding member of Bach Collegium Helsinki, a collective specialising in the performance of J.S. Bach’s cantatas.
Marja Nevankallio
I am a kantele artist, instrumental teacher, and chamber musician. I graduated with a Master of Music degree from the Sibelius Academy in 2006. I am especially drawn to the fluid boundaries between contemporary art music for the kantele and tradition, improvisation, the search for my own musical voice, and making music together with others.
Currently, I perform both as a soloist and in various chamber music ensembles (including Duo Lux, Duo Vanamo, and Näkymätön) across Finland and teach kantele and piano in the Helsinki metropolitan area and Pirkanmaa. As a musician, I aim to break down musical boundaries and make art accessible to everyone. Nature, silence, and meaningful encounters with people are central values in my life, leading also to the origins of music’s meaning: shared presence and the experience of beauty.
Tanja Niiranen
Master of Music and pianist Tanja Niiranen performs actively as a soloist and in various ensembles. She enjoys intense presence and the opportunity to explore life’s major questions through music. Niiranen has performed widely as a lied pianist in Finland and abroad, for example with soprano Emma Hartikainen et festivals, and at concerts of Musica Nova, the Ateneum Museum, the Sibelius Museum in Hämeenlinna, the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum, the Finnish Institute in Rome, and the Pro Musica Foundation.She enjoys collaborating with contemporary composers and has premiered new works as a lied pianist, soloist, and orchestral soloist. She has studied improvisation with David Dolan and Anto Pett and performed in improvisation ensembles.Niiranen has received awards at the Kuopio Piano Competition, Helsinki Lied Competition, Talvikamari Festival, and the City of Salzburg Recognition Prize at the Mozarteum University Summer Academy. She currently works as a repetiteur and accompanist at the Berlin University of the Arts, having previously worked at the University of the Arts Helsinki, Turku University of Applied Sciences, the Katrina Chamber Music Festival, and the Savonlinna Opera Festival.
Ulla Raiskio
Mezzo soprano Ulla Raiskio has performed opera, operetta, musical theatre, lied, and baroque repertoire throughout her singing career. She has premiered several Finnish operas and song cycles.
Raiskio is a founding member and long time chair of the Finnish Lied Academy. One of her special passions is Neapolitan baroque cantatas, which she performs, among others, with the ensemble Galantina. Raiskio has worked as a lecturer in vocal art at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Tampere Conservatory, and currently at the Sibelius Academy, where she also teaches singer ergonomics and practice methods..
Santeri Rautiainen
Master of Music, Guitarist Santeri Rautiainen cultivates curiosity and enthusiasm and thrives in intellectual processes. Meditation and challenging one’s own perceptual habits shape his interpretations. His artistic aim is to avoid thinking in terms of what one already assumes to know.
Rautiainen has performed extensively in solo and chamber music tours in Finland and has had concerts across Europe. His repertoire ranges from 16th century plucked string music to contemporary works. He seeks out lesser known guitar repertoire and introduces new arrangements.
He has performed at events such as Suvisoitto, Kamarikesä, and What Ever Works, and collaborated with Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, UUSINTA Ensemble, and the NYKY Dance Company. He is a member of the Kitara Nova association, which promotes new music.
Rautiainen holds master’s degrees from the University of the Arts Helsinki, the University of Alicante, and the Maastricht Conservatory. He has received a Diploma di Merito from the Siena Summer Academy and has studied at the Artist’s Thinking Academy at both the University of the Arts Helsinki and Cirko.
Ene Salumäe
Ene Salumäe has graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and the Sibelius Academy (choral conducting, church music and organ) and has supplemented her studies in organ improvisation and early music. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician with various early music ensembles, choirs, soloists and orchestras in Estonia and abroad. Ene Salumäe has been active as an organist-choir director in many congregations throughout Estonia and Finland. She has worked as a teacher in organ and church music at the Viljandi Cultural Academy and has lectured on subjects related to church music at the Theological Institute of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church. Ene Salumäe has been the initiator and organizer of many concert series and church music related events.
Katariina Selenius
Cellist and music pedagogue Katariina Selenius, originally from Sulkava, has had a versatile orchestral career, performing with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Lahti, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oulu Symphony Orchestra, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, and Jyväskylä Sinfonietta.
In 2023 Selenius graduated with a master’s degree in orchestral music from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, studying with Kati Raitinen and Johannes Rostamo. She earned her music pedagogy degree from Turku University of Applied Sciences in 2018.
Selenius has further developed her skills through masterclasses with internationally renowned cellists such as Andreas Brantelid, Helen Linden, and Torleif Thedéen. A passionate chamber musician, she enjoys close collaboration with fellow artists and has performed in diverse ensembles and musical styles throughout the Nordic countries. Since 2023, she has toured Finland – including Åland – with guitarist Santeri Rautiainen.
Kikko Siltanen
Kikko Siltanen is a pianist and church musician who will graduate this coming Christmas from the Sibelius Academy as an A level cantor and diploma pianist. He performs concerts and works as a cantor with great passion.
Siltanen has appeared as a soloist with the Helsinki Concordia Orchestra of the Helsinki Conservatory and performed a seven concert Sibelius piano recital series at Temppeliaukio Church. He is a founding member of the chamber music ensemble Kustavi Ensemble. This summer, his playing can be heard especially in Töölö Parish and in the Turku Archipelago.
Senni Valtonen
Senni Valtonen is a distinctive kantele player, improvisation artist, and multi instrumentalist. In recent years, she has worked as an acting theatre musician in productions such as Veljeni Leijonamieli at the Helsinki City Theatre, the musical Katrina at Åbo Svenska Teater, Wasa Teater, and Lilla Teatern, and Tulisiipi at the Hämeenlinna Theatre.
Valtonen served for over ten years as a church musician in Munkkiniemi Parish in Helsinki and as a part time teacher at the University of the Arts Helsinki. She currently works as a cantor at Johannes Parish. She performs both solo and in various ensembles and composes and arranges new music for practical use.
Having completed master’s degrees in music education, church music, and folk music at the Sibelius Academy, Valtonen originates from Eräjärvi in Orivesi, surrounded by countryside and nature. For her, the core of music lies in presence and surrender, interaction, and the joy of making music together.
Katri Vanhamäki
Katri Vanhamäki began her musical studies at the Southwest Häme Music Institute, starting piano at the age of seven and organ ten years later. She studied organ and church music at Tampere University of Applied Sciences, the Sibelius Academy, and the conservatories of Debrecen and Amsterdam, with teachers including Olli Porthan, Jacques van Oortmerssen and Anne Nietosvaara.
After completing her master’s degree in church music, she pursued a second degree in performing musical arts and earned her A level organ diploma with highest distinction at the Sibelius Academy in 2010 under Professor Olli Porthan. She gave her debut concert in the Sibelius Academy concert series in 2013.
Vanhamäki has received recognition in international organ competitions and has performed widely in Finland and Europe as a soloist, ensemble musician, and choir accompanist. She works as an A level cantor at Mikael Parish in Helsinki and as a choir director at the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Vocal ensemble Uoma
The vocal ensemble Uoma focuses on Renaissance music, particularly 16th century sacred repertoire. Since its debut concert in 2020, Uoma has performed with increasing frequency in Helsinki and the Uusimaa region and has been invited to events such as Helsinki Organ Summer.
In addition to its own concert activities, Uoma promotes awareness of Renaissance vocal music by offering courses for singers interested in early music and by assembling a project choir to perform Thomas Tallis’s famous 40 part motet Spem in alium. The ensemble is led by period specialist conductor and composer Teemu Tommola.
