Seeli toivio biography

Seeli Toivio is a mezzosoprano, cellist, and Doctor of Music (graduated from Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, Finland).
Seeli Toivio is a Finnish virtuoso cellist who regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician in her home country and abroad.
As academically trained classical musicians, saxophonist Olli-Pekka Tuomisalo, Cellist Seeli Toivio and her brother Kalle, a pianist and.

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About me

Ivo Varbanov studied in Milan with the Hungarian pianist Ylonka Deckers from 1988 to 1993. After his graduation he came to England to work with Sulamita Aronowsky and Frank Wibaut at the Royal Academy of Music, completing his postgraduate studies in 1998 (on a Rotary Foundation Scholarship). He studied also with Dennis Lee. Ivo Varbanov and Seeli Toivio won 1st Prize and Special Prize in the XXV International Chamber Music Competition in Finale Ligure (Italy) in 1998. His first CD of piano works by Mussorgsky (Gega New) had excellent reviews in BBC Music Magazine, Suono, HFN&RR, In Tune, and Kultura. His second CD with Seeli Toivio (Gega New) was a world première of works for cello & piano by Ildebrando Pizzetti was released in 2004.

In 2001 with Michal Drewnowski (piano), Christo Yotzov and Eti Kukudov (percussion), he created the Voland Quartet, a two pianos and percussion ensemble dedicated to contemporary music. Their first CD, with works by Béla Bartók, Aleksandr Arutiunian, Gheorghi Arnaoudov, Ari Ben-Shabetai, Christo Yotzov and J

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Kalle Toivio, Piano

Biography

Kalle Toivio is a Finnish concert pianist and organist living in New York City. He graduated from the Sibelius Academy with a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance as a student of Professor Matti Raekallio, and a degree in Sacred Music. After graduating and being honored with the Bronson Ragan Award, given to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding ability in Organ Performance, Kalle Toivio continues his organ studies with Professor McNeil Robinson in the Doctor of Musical Arts degree program at the Manhattan School of Music, while continuing piano studies with Nina Svetlanova. Kalle Toivio has toured in Europe, Japan and the United States. He has performed on television and radio in Finland, England, Belgium and Austria. Besides being a versatile soloist and chamber musician, Mr. Toivio is interested in early music and improvisation.

Duo Toivio: Seeli and Kalle Toivio are Finnish-born sister and brother who have performed together since their childhood. They have appeared in many countries in Europe, inc

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What brought you to New York, Seeli and Olli-Pekka?

Seeli: Kalle has lived here for some time - he has studied at the Manhattan School of Music, and recently married an American girl – so right after the wedding in August we decided that we would arrange a visit. And when Kalle told us about this opportunity to give a concert [at Salmagundi], we just grabbed our instruments and hopped on a plane - or well, Olli-Pekka did, I played on a borrowed cello and just brought my own bow.

Have you been to the city before?

Olli-Pekka: I was here a couple of years ago for about a week, just on a short vacation.

Seeli: Aside from Kalle’s wedding this summer, I came here a number of years ago to participate in a cello competition. And now that we have this ongoing opportunity to combine a concert trip with a vacation, we plan to come back more often.

Seeli, you said that you played Sunday’s concert on a borrowed cello. What made you decide to not bring your own?

Seeli: I’ve played on borrowed instruments before. There have been times, for example, when I’ve traveled from Fi