Oregon Symphony

 

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Guest Artist Bio

Elina Vähälä

Born in the United States and raised in Finland, Elina Vähälä began playing the violin at age 3 after being inspired by the TV-series Minifiddlers in Musicland, which featured young children playing the violin. She made her orchestral debut at age 12 with Sinfonia Lahti, soon became its “young master soloist” and collaborates with the orchestra to this day.

At these concerts Vähälä appears as soloist with the Oregon Symphony for the second time (she performed Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in her December 2007 debut with the orchestra).
Vähälä is the winner of the 1999 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. She made her New York debut that same year, to critical acclaim in the New York Times. Since then she has performed around the world as both soloist and chamber musician.

Vähälä’s repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary. She gave world premieres of Aulis Sallinen's Chamber Concerto and Curtis Curtis-Smith's Double Concerto, both written for her and pianist-conductor Ralf Gothóni, and gave the Scandinavian premiere of John Corigliano’s The Red Violin.

Past seasons have taken Vähälä to stages on five continents. She has formed a special partnership with the English Chamber Orchestra, with whom she has performed worldwide. She has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony and the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra in Venezuela, among others. In December 2008 she performed at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, which was broadcast in 100 countries.  Other highlights this season include appearances with the Finnish Radio Symphony and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. 

Vähälä has recently launched Violin Academy, an educational project for young Finnish violinists. She is professor of violin at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, Germany, and debuts this season with her new string quartet, QUADRION.

Vähälä plays an Antonio Stradivari violin built in 1678 and loaned by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. More information online: elinavahala.com

 

 

 

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