Professori Ilkka Kuusisto | |
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Background information | |
Born | Helsinki, Finland [1] | 26 April 1933
Genres | Opera |
Occupation(s) |
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Instrument(s) | Organ |
Ilkka Taneli Kuusisto (born 26 April 1933) [1] is a Finnish opera composer, conductor, choirmaster and organist. [2]
Kuusisto studied at the Sibelius Academy (now part of the University of the Arts Helsinki), qualifying as an organist in 1954, and a music teacher in 1958. [1] He also studied composition under Aarre Merikanto, and afterwards went on to further his studies in Vienna and New York. [1]
Kuusisto started his career as a church organist, working in that role for nearly two decades. [1] [3]
He conducted the Helsinki City Theatre orchestra for most of the 1960s. [1] He taught at Sibelius Academy from 1975 to 1984. [1] He worked for many years in the music department of the Finnish public broadcaster Yle, and also was the artistic director of a leading Finnish music publishing company, Musiikki-Fazer , in the early 1980s. [1] [3]
Kuusisto worked extensively as a choirmaster, conducting the Finnish National Opera chorus and the Radio Symphony Chorus for several years, as well as having engagements with many other choirs. [2] [1]
His perhaps highest-profile management role was as the Director General of the National Opera, between 1984 and 1992. [1] [2]
Kuusisto's composition repertoire covers a broad range of genres, from stage and film music, to jazz, choral works, and opera, the last of which he is the best-known. [1]
In 1984, Kuusisto received the Pro Finlandia medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland. [4]
In 1992, the honorary title of Professori was conferred on Kuusisto. [2]
Ilkka Kuusisto's father was the composer and music educator Taneli Kuusisto. [2]
Both his sons, Jaakko (1974–2022) and Pekka (born 1976), are also conductors, composers, as well as violinists. [1]