Erkki Lahesmaa studied the cello with Aldo Parisot, Zara Nelsova, Harvey Shapiro and Timo Hanhinen at the Juilliard School, the Yale University and the Turku Conservatory. He also studied chamber music with, among others, the Juilliard and Tokyo string quartets. Whilst a student, he won the Juilliard competition in USA and was a finalist in the East and West-competition in New York and the Saint-Louis Symphony competition. In 1986 he won the second prize in the Turku cello competition in Finland.
Lahesmaa gave his debut in New York in 1990 performing the Dvorak concerto at the Lincoln Center. He has appeared as a soloist and a chamber musician in Europe, USA, Canada, South-America and Japan. As a chamber musician, Lahesmaa has been a member of the Artisti del Mondo and the Coryton ensembles in USA and the Arthur-Leblanc and the Tristan string quartets in Canada. He is also a member of the Plus-ensemble and the Ad Libitum pianotrio.
At present, Erkki is a senior lecturer of cello and chamber music at the Turku Music Academy in Finland, where he himself studied. He also gives masterclasses around the world, most recently teaching in Glasgow at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in a week of masterclasses.
Erkki Lahesmaa is the artistic director of the Nauvo Chamber Music Festival. |
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