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Principal Cellist

Roi Ruottinen

Roi Ruottinen entered the Vantaa Music Institute at the age of four as a student of Teppo Tuominen. He enrolled in the Sibelius Academy in 1990, and graduated from Martti Rousi’s cello class in 1994 with excellent grades. Earlier that year, he already won the shared first prize of the Turku Cello Competition. Roi Ruottinen has performed regularly as a soloist with the Finnish orchestras and as a chamber musician. Furthermore, he has performed in other countries in Europe, in the USA, Japan, China, and South America and also given master classes. In 1995-1996 he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Professor Torleif Thedéen’s class. He won the first prize of the school’s soloist competition and was rewarded with an opportunity to play at the legendary Tivoli. In 1999 Ruottinen won the Uussoitto competition organized by the Society of Finnish Composers, which opened him doors to various festivals in Finland and abroad. There are many cello works composed for Ruottinen and he has co-operated with many distinguished composers, such as Saariaho, Penderecki, Lachenmann, Wennäkoski, and Pulkkis.

Ruottinen has made many radio and TV recordings in Finland and abroad. Since autumn 2012 he has worked as lecturer at the Sibelius Academy and since autumn 2013 as TPO:s principal cellist. Ruottinen performs actively as a chamber musician and holds both master classes and orchestral coachings in Finland and Europe, in 2020 for example in Den Haag, Dortmund and Essen. Ruottinen’s instruments are David Pizzurnus Genova 1769 and Giovanni Battista Guadagnini 1758 Mediolani. Ruottinen uses Joseph Henry Pariisi and Alfred Lamy Pariisi bows, among others.