“Klaus Mäkelä is an extraordinary talent, who will go far. He manages to channel his musical expression in a constructive way.” (Huvudstadsbladet, January 2016)

 

Born in 1996, conductor and cellist Klaus Mäkelä has already made a significant impact on the Finnish musical landscape.

The 20 year old has conducted major Finnish orchestras, including Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra and Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, all with reinvitations. In the 2015/16 season, he made outstanding debuts with Gothenburg Symphony, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, as well as conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra at the Helsinki Festival.

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This season will see Mäkelä make his conducting debut with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, as well as returning to the Helsinki, Tampere and Turku philharmonic orchestras, Oulu Symphony Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, St. Michel Strings and Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester. Other highlights of the season include making his debut with Kymi Sinfonietta as conductor and soloist, recording with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and assisting for the Finnish National Opera’s production of Bizet’s Carmen.

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A graduate of the Sibelius Academy, he studied conducting with Jorma Panula and cello with Marko Ylönen, Timo Hanhinen and Hannu Kiiski.  As soloist, he has performed with Finnish orchestras such as the Lahti Symphony, Kuopio Symphony and Jyväskylä Sinfonia as well as appeared at many Finnish festivals including Naantali, Kauniainen, Iitti, Joensuu, Heinävesi and Chamber Music Summer Festival in Helsinki.