We are back for an exciting year 2020! We are proud to introduce today the 6 soloists from the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra that will bring you our coming chamber music concert, "5 & 6". Join us on Tuesday 21st of January at 19:00 in our "home" of Temppeliaukio Church, for an exciting program centered about the two musical giants that are Mozart and Brahms!
Read more about them below:
VIOLINS
Malaysian-born violinist Andrew Ng Wen Hao is one of South-East Asia’s up and coming young talents of his generation. Recent seasons have seen him performing in festivals and concerts around the world; Festival Bled in Slovenia, the Verbier Festival, Switzerland and the New Virtuosi International Violin Masterclass on tour in Italy, to name a few.
Eager to expand his knowledge and skill, Andrew has taken masterclasses from many distinguished instructors, including David Takeno, Ani Schnarch and Masaaki Suzuki. Besides that, he enjoys close collaboration with chamber music ensembles, the Julliard Quartet, Belcea Quartet, and the Red Priest Baroque Group, all whom have given Andrew coaching and mentoring.
After graduating from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore, Andrew Ng is currently doing his Master’s degree in Sibelius Academy under the tutelage of former Finnish Radio Orchestra concertmaster Päivyt Meller.
Vadim Grumeza was born in 1993 and started playing the violin from a very early age in his city of birth Chisinau, in Moldova, where his teacher was Nicolae Buinovski. He continued his studies at the Turku Arts Academy as a pupil of Juha-Pekka Vikman. Grumeza has given concerts in Moldova, France, Germany, the USA, Georgia, Belarus, Norway, Poland and Turkey. In Romania he won the Remember Enescu Violin Competition in 2011 and the Paul Constantinescu Competition in 2012.
Grumeza has appeared as soloist with a number of Finnish orchestras, including the Hämeenlinna City Orchestra and Turku's Å-Ensemble. In recent times he has taken up the study of the philosophy of music. In the concert season 2018–19 Grumeza joined the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in The Jungle, composed by Wynton Marsalis. Grumeza plays in Bålder Quartet, which is a member of the Kuhmo Chamber Music's Quartet Academy.
VIOLAS
Valerie Lassfolk is a German violist based in Helsinki, Finland. Having obtained Masters Degrees from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (2019) and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London (2015), her playing has been guided by Pirkko Simojoki, Matthew Jones, Prof. David Takeno, Hariolf Schlichtig, Garth Knox, amongst others.
Lassfolk has played in various festivals, including the British Isles Music Festival, Viola Moderna Festival, Music Coll Festival and Southbanks' Rest is Noise Festival. She has been a member of the National German Philharmonic String Orchestra, the European Union Youth Orchestra and completed the apprenticeship scheme of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Lassfolk has worked as a section leader in Lappeenranta City Orchestra and Pori Sinfonietta, and has played in orchestras such as Ostrobothian Chamber Orchestra, Avanti! Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Kuopio Symphony Orchestra.
As a teacher, Lassfolk currently works at the East Helsinki Music Institute where she teaches viola, violin and improvisation. Improvisation forms a central part of Valerie Lassfolk’s music-making, having improvised to exhibitions, films, dance and theatre and co-founding Kaipuu Festival for Silent Film and Improvised Sound which debuted in Helsinki in April 2018.
Margarethe was born in Vienna in 1993 and exposed to music from an early age. Coming from a musical family she picked up learning instruments from the age of six and played violin, trumpet and clarinet before she settled on viola. She studied her Bachelor studies in Vienna but decided not to always stay in one place, so she came to Sibelius Academy in Helsinki for her Master studies.
In her music playing Margarethe was always most inspired by the power of communication. The expression of emotion and possibility of understanding through the music led her to develop a keen interest in ensemble playing, especially in chamber music.
She participated in masterclasses with Roland Glassl, Tabea Zimmerman and had quartet coaching with the Danel Quartet and Petja Kainulainen (Kamus Quartet), which led her to found her own string quartet in 2018, Soma Quartet. Furthermore, she played several times with the Lahti Sinfonia.
Margarethe is currently finishing her Master degree and always looking for inspiring projects to excitedly share music with an audience.
CELLOS
Laura Martin (1992) is one of the rare musicians to have built her own instrument. She was then 17, and this cello became her musical partner for several years. This unforgettable process opened to her the universe of sound making from its deepest origin. Originally from Paris, Laura made her Bachelor studies in Belgium at the Brussels’ Royal Conservatory, in the class of Marie Hallynck, and then graduated from her Master at the Sibelius Academy in 2018 where she studied with Martti Rousi. She has then been asked to be Cello Assistant in the class of Martti Rousi for a year.
Laura has participated in various projects and masterclasses such as the Festival Pablo Casals, the Villecroze Academy, the Cello Biennale of Amsterdam (2016), the 9th Osaka chamber music competition, and the Creative Dialogue IX with Kaija Saariaho and Anssi Karttunen. Laura Martin has also collaborated with artists like the violinist Mihaela Martin, the pianists Kyoko Ashimoto, Martti Rautio, Valeria Resjan, Irina Zahharenkova, and the soprano Piia Komsi.
In the summer of 2018, she was invited to be a Professional Performance Artist at the Boston Music Institute's 12 Hour Masterclasses with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and participated in the music festival of Santander in Spain. More recently, in February 2019 she has created CelloFest.fi, the first-ever International Cello Festival in Finland, together with Martti Rousi as Artistic Director.
Based in Helsinki, Laura is the principal cellist of the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra and regularly works at the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Finnish Radio Orchestra and at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet in addition to her activity as a chamber musician.
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". 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 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. Sujari plays a Neuner and Hornsteiner cello made in Mittenwald, Germany circa 1718, generously loaned to her by Carlsen Cello Foundation.
In addition to her active solo career, Sujari is a member of JoSunJari, a classical string trio with her sister Joelle (violin), and her brother Sunnaj (violin); and a member of various troupes and ensembles of classical, jazz, and eccelctic genres.