Biography
Cellist Sirja Nironen (b. 1992) is a soloist, chamber and orchestra musician based in Helsinki, Finland. She is the co-artistic director of the North Karelian contemporary art event Kaivos Festival, alongside film director Niko Väistö and dancer-choreographer Katariina Vähäkallio, and performs in varied contemporary and jazz ensembles.
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 has visited as a solo cellist in orchestras such as the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony & Opera Orchestra, Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, Vantaa Pops Orchestra, Kymi Sinfonietta and Pori Sinfonietta. Nironen held a position of Sub-Principal Cellist in Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra from 2020 to 2024 before transitioning to a freelance career 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 7.1.2025