Järnefelt Piano Trio: Jean Sibelius Concert

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
A direct descendent of the Finnish Composer Jean Sibelius, pianist Ruusamari Teppo began her piano studies at the age of four in her native country of Finland. Following graduation from the prestigious Sibelius Music High School, and three years of piano study in Paris, she was awarded a scholarship by the Finnish government to continue her education at the Prague Conservatory and the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. After completing the artistic certificate programs at both institutions, Ms. Teppo moved to the United States to study with world-renowned pianist and pedagogue Vladimir Viardo. She is currently pursuing her Doctoral degree in Collaborative Piano Performance studying with Dr. Puccinelli and Dr. Harlos at the University of North Texas.

Ms. Teppo has performed as a soloist and a collaborative pianist in the United States, eight European countries and South Africa. In addition to winning second prize in the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition, and the Petrof Piano Competition, Ms. Teppo has participated in many music festivals, including the Kuhmo, Naantali, Turku, Karjaa, and Inkoo festivals in Finland, Portogruaro and Tarvisio in Italy, South Africa’s Stellenbosh, and Moulin D’Ande in France. Always an innovator, she spearheads crossover performances in collaboration with dancers and actors: most recently, the Finlandia Foundation sponsored her extensive US tour with cellist Jussi Makkonen to honor Sibelius’s 150^th birthday. Ms. Teppo is the artistic director of the newly founded Koivu ja Tähti Festival in Finland, and the pianist for the NOVA new music ensemble.  

A versatile recitalist and chamber musician, violinist Päivikki Nykter, is equally at home with standard repertoire as well as contemporary music. A native of Finland, she is a graduate of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Ms. Nykter served as an Artist-in-Residence at the University of California San Diego Music Department from 1994 to 2006. She is now a freelance violinist maintaining a busy concert schedule as well as teaching the Alexander Technique both in the United States and Europe. Ms. Nykter is an artistic director of a Chamber Music Concert Series in Lappeenranta, Finland. She has recorded on Neuma, Aucourant Records, CRI, Old King Cole, Omega Editions and mode labels.

Finnish-born cellist Katri Ervamaa, DMA, is a multifaceted performer, who especially loves playing chamber music, new music and creative improvisation. She has performed and given master classes throughout North America, Europe and Taiwan. Her festival appearances include the Orlando, Kuhmo, Bowdoin, Lyckå and Norrtäjle Chamber Music Festivals (with the Finnish Owla String Quartet) as well as the Denison University Tutti! New Music Festival, Poison City Music Festival, Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival and Finnfest, among others. She has also performed at Ann Arbor’s Edgefest with Lars Hollmer’s Global Home Project, Guy Kluscevic, Mark Kirschenmann, E3Q, Andrew Bishop and Ed Sarath. She studied cello with Erling Blöndal Bengtsson, Marc Johnson, Kazimierz Mikhalik and Lauri Laitinen, and holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan. Dr. Ervamaa is a founding member and past president of Brave New Works new music ensemble (bravenewworks.org), the Muse string trio and E3Q, an improvisation-based genre-defying trio of cello, trumpet and percussion. She appears on Envoy Recordings, Block M Records, and AMP Records labels. Most recently, she appeared in the documentary ”Mestiza Music”, produced by WFYI-Indinapolis, on  sixty PBS stations nationwide. In addition to her lively performance career, Dr. Ervamaa is on faculty at the University of Michigan’s Residential College, where she is the head of the music program and teaches chamber music. She has also been on the cello faculty at the Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green State Universities. She plays on a 1868 HC Silvestre cello, and you can find them online at www.katrimusic.com.