Sasha Aleksi Mäkilä (born June 19, 1973) is a
Finnish conductor.
Biography
Sasha Mäkilä, born in
Kerava
Kerava (; ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Kerava is situated in the centre of the Uusimaa region. The population of Kerava is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality ...
, Finland, first studied cello at the
Helsinki Conservatory before starting his conducting studies with
Leonid Korchmar at the
Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory of St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2004, while still a student, he was appointed conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the Russian National Library in
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
.
He later continued his studies at the
Sibelius Academy
The Sibelius Academy (, ) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjoki ...
with professor
Leif Segerstam
Leif Selim Segerstam ( , 2 March 1944 – 9 October 2024) was a Finnish conductor, composer, violinist, violist, and pianist, especially known for writing over 300 symphonies, along with other works.
From 1963 onward Segerstam conducted a vari ...
and at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen with
David Zinman. He also participated in master classes with notable conductors like
Yuri Simonov,
Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur (; 18 July 192719 December 2015) was a German Conducting, conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewand ...
and
Jorma Panula.
In 2005 Mäkilä was a finalist in the
Suwon
Suwon (; ) is the largest city and capital of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea's most populous province. The city lies approximately south of the national capital, Seoul. With a population of 1.2 million, Suwon has more inhabitants than Ulsan, tho ...
International Conductors Competition in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, and in 2006 he became a prize winner in the Sixth International
Vakhtang Jordania
Vakhtang Jordania ( ka, ვახტანგ ჟორდანია; born 9 December 1943, Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union – 4 October 2005, Broadway, Virginia, United States) was a Georgian conductor.
Biography
Born in the Georgian SSR ...
Conducting Competition in the US.
From 2007 to 2010 Mäkilä served as assistant conductor to
Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur (; 18 July 192719 December 2015) was a German Conducting, conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewand ...
at
Orchestre National de France
The Orchestre National de France (; ; abbr. ONF) is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since 1975), the ONF performs mainly in the Grand ...
. From 2010-2012 he was Assistant Conductor of The
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". T ...
under Music Director
Franz Welser-Möst.
Sasha Mäkilä guest conducts orchestras in Europe, Asia, US and South Africa. He made his 2004 opera debut with the Helsinki Conservatory and later became the first in Finland to conduct operatic works of
Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
with Helsinki Skaala Opera. Mäkilä has also actively championed modern Finnish music, notably
Kalevi Aho and
Jukka Tiensuu.
In April 2012 Sasha Mäkilä was appointed Music Director of
St. Michel Strings chamber orchestra in
Mikkeli
Mikkeli (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city in, and the regional capital of, South Savo, Finland, located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population is approximately , while the Mikkeli sub-region of Southern Savonia has a populat ...
, Finland. In 2013 Helsinki University presented Sasha Mäkilä with the
Pacius Award.
References
External links
Sasha Mäkilä official websiteSasha Mäkilä artist page at William Reinert Associates, Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Makila, Sasha
1973 births
Living people
21st-century Finnish conductors (music)
People from Kerava
Sibelius Academy alumni
Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni