Artist Profile
Cellist Sirja Nironen is known for her wide-ranging artistry as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral principal cellist, as well as for her deep connection to contemporary music. She is the musical curator of the 2025 Kaivos Festival (Outokumpu, Finland), and in this autumn season, she has performed in Estonia as the soloist in Gulda's rock-inspired cello concerto and appears in Norway as principal cellist with both the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra.
Beyond music, Sirja finds joy and inspiration in the anarchistic satire of Charles Bukowski, the works of Gabriel García Márquez and Milan Kundera, strength training, sauna and ice swimming, improvisation, vintage aesthetics, dark roast coffee, spicy food, and most of all, her beloved people — delightfully unruly and dear.
Updated August 26, 2025
Biography
Sirja Nironen is a versatile cellist who thrives both as a soloist and in a wide range of ensembles. She has served as principal cellist with orchestras such as the Royal Opera of Wallonia, the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, and the Trondheim Symphony and Opera Orchestra.
Since 2023, Nironen has been actively involved in Kulttuuriyhdistys Ääninen, and in 2025 she serves as the musical curator of the Kaivos Festival, alongside choreographer Katariina Vähäkallio and film director Niko Väistö.
Nironen has had the pleasure to premiere chamber and solo works including cello concerti by Matilda Seppälä, Elisar Riddelin and Sauli Zinovjev. She has performed at the inaugural concert of the Helsinki Music Center, and as a soloist with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Oulu Symphony and Turku Philharmonic Orchestra among others. As a chamber musician she has participated in festivals such as the Helsinki Festival, the Musical Chairs Festival in Montreal, the Santa Fé Chamber Music Festival, the Amsterdam Cello Biennale, the Tampere Biennale, the Naantali Music Festival and the Korsholm Music Festival to name a few.
Nironen is a member of Versoi Ensemble and ÄÄNI collective. She held a position of Sub-Principal Cellist in Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra from 2020 to 2024 before transitioning to focus on roles as a solo cellist, soloist, chamber musician and artistic director. Nironen is a prize winner of the Turku Cello Competition 2018, the Rome Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition 2017 and Finnish chamber music competitions.
Nironen studied under renowned mentors such as Frans Helmerson, Arto Noras and Martti Rousi in institutions including Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin and Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki. Nironen's early teachers were Taru Aarnio and Hannu Kiiski. She has participated masterclasses by Lynn Harrell, Natalia Gutman and Jean-Guihen Queyras to mention a few.
Nironen plays a significant role in releases "Avanti! - Lotta Wennäkoski ZENG" (Alba Records, 2023), "Restart - Finnish Game Music Revised" (Game Music Collective, 2023) "Mikko Sarvanne Garden - Heräämisen valkea myrsky" (Eclipse Music, 2022), "Lucy Abrams - Duel" (Siba Records, 2022), "Uuno Klami's chamber music" (Alba Records, 2020), "Double Identity - Simon Kanzler" (WhyPlayJazz, 2016), "Quartphonic EPK - Elena Mindru Third Stream Project" (EM Records, 2016), "Vita Brevis, Ars Longa" (2012, Naantali Music Festival). In 2019 cellist Sirja Nironen with Naoko Ichihashi on piano, recorded works by Scriabin, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky for the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE.
Nironen has been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Finnish Arts Promotion Center, the Music Promotion Foundation, Pro Musica, Pro Orchestra, the Alfred Kordelin Foundation, the Wegelius Foundation, the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Pro Orchestra, and numerous private sponsors.
updated 16.8.2025