Martti Rousi and the Sibelius Academy Cello Ensemble

The Sibelius Academy Cello Ensemble was established by Martti Rousi and his finest students. Each member of the ensemble is also a soloist, many of them having received prizes at national and international competitions. Leading Finnish composers including Kalevi Aho, Aija Puurtinen and Osmo Tapio Räihälä have written works for the ensemble. The Sibelius Academy Cello Ensemble performed at the inauguration of the new Music Centre in Helsinki in August 2011, in addition to appearances at concert halls such as the Verkatehdas in Hämeenlinna and the Turku, Sysmä and Kuhmo Music Festivals. In January 2015 the ensemble appeared at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre, and in November the same year it performed at the Tampere Hall in Tampere (Finland).
The ensemble’s broad repertoire starts with renaissance and baroque music and includes romantic composers such as Tchaikovsky, Wagner and Sibelius as well as featuring such South American classics as Villa-Lobos and Piazzolla. Sopranos including Piia Komsi, Mari Palo and Tuuli Takala perform with the ensemble on a regular basis.
Each of the ensemble’s musicians performs an instrument crafted by leading Italian and French masters, among them David Tecchler, Carlo Tononi, Carlo Giuseppe Testore, Giacomo Rivolta, Nicolas Lupot, Gustave Bernardel, Jaques Thibout.