Hanna Juutilainen has a Master of Music degree from the Sibelius Academy. She has played flute not only with the Tapiola Sinfonietta but also with Avanti! and various chamber music ensembles and as a soloist. Her performances include both core repertoire and rarities old and new, and she enjoys collaborating with composers. She also teaches at the Sibelius Academy and gives masterclasses around Finland.

Heljä Räty began her flute studies with Juho Alvas in Jyväskylä. She studied with Herbert Weissberg in Vienna from 1983 to 1986 and graduated with a Master of Music degree from the class of Mikael Helasvuo at the Sibelius Academy in 1992. She has been an active member of the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra since 1987 and has played Deputy Principal Flute with the Tapiola Sinfonietta since 1997.

Anni Haapaniemi studied the oboe at the Sibelius Academy and at the Gothenburg and Geneva Conservatories, graduating with a Master of Music degree from the Sibelius Academy in 2007. She has played Principal Oboe with the Tampere Philharmonic, the Helsinki Philharmonic and, from autumn 2009, the Tapiola Sinfonietta. She is a member of the Arktinen Hysteria wind quintet and Ensemble Schrat, and she is also artistic director of the Kaustinen Chamber Music Week.

Marja Talka began her oboe studies at the Lappeenranta Music Institute in 1981. She gave her début recital at the Sibelius Academy in 1998 and graduated with a Master of Music degree in 2003, having studied with Timo Lehtonen, Matti Jylhä-Vuorio, Sven-Erik Paananen, Aale Lindgren, Jouko Teikari and Jorma Valjakka. She studied further in Paris and London and at masterclasses in Finland. She has played Deputy Principal Oboe with the Tapiola Sinfonietta since 1994 and also frequently performs chamber music.

Olli Leppäniemi has studied the clarinet at the Sibelius Academy, Norway’s Music Institute and the University of Southern California. He won the first prize at the international Carl Nielsen-contest in 2009, and has after that been the soloist for BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki City Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra of Norrlandsoperan, Odsen Symphony Orchestra and the Tivoli Symphony Orchestra. He was awarded the Musician of the Year-prize in Denmark in 2011. Leppäniemi has been the section principal for the clarinets at Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonics and Sinfonia Lahti. He often performs with the London Philharmonia Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Leppäniemi is a Buffet Crampon-artist.

Asko Heiskanen began his clarinet studies in his home town, Kuopio, and went on to study at the Sibelius Academy and the Geneva Conservatory. He studied further at the chamber music courses given by Professor Ralf Gothóni and at the historical clarinet masterclasses given by Lorenzo Coppola. His principal competition success was 1st prize in the Crusell Clarinet Competition in 1995. He also plays period clarinet with the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and Ensemble Schrat.

Jaakko Luoma studied the bassoon at the Lohja Music Institute, the Sibelius Academy and the Paris Conservatory. He has been a member of the Tapiola Sinfonietta since 1993. He played Principal Bassoon with the Orchestre de Paris from 1996 to 1998 and Principal Bassoon with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2001 to 2003. He regularly performs as a soloist and a chamber musician at home and abroad, and he also plays period bassoons.

Bridget Allaire-Mäki began her bassoon studies at the age of 17 and continued her studies at Northwestern University in Chicago and at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She went on to study at the Geneva Conservatory while playing with the Lyon Opera Orchestra. She has appeared at numerous music festivals, including Korsholma, Kuhmo and the Crusell Week. She also completed a fine arts qualification in 2012 and is a member of the Finnish Painters’ Union.

Tero Toivonen has been playing with the Tapiola Sinfonietta for 18 years. He completed a Master of Music degree in 2003 and continues to study at the doctoral research unit of the Sibelius Academy; the topic of his artistically oriented doctorate is the orchestra musician and audience outreach. In 1997, he received the black T-shirt of the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra on a long-term loan, and he wears it approximately once a month. Apart from his orchestral work, he plays with The Golden Horns quartet. He is known as Mr Horn Teacher at the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki and at the Hyvinkää and Espoo Music Institutes.

Antti Räty began his trumpet studies with Juhani Listo in Turku and studied further in Berlin. He played Deputy Principal Trumpet with the Vaasa City Orchestra from 1983 to 1984, and in 1989 he was employed as an extra in the Berlin Opera Orchestra, the Berlin City Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. He played Principal Trumpet with the Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz in 1990–1991 and with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra from 1991 to 1998. He then returned to Finland to join the Guards Band as a civilian member and now plays Principal Trumpet with the Tapiola Sinfonietta.

Janne Ovaskainen has been a member of the Tapiola Sinfonietta since 2001. Born and raised in Rovaniemi, he moved to Helsinki to study at the Sibelius Academy after upper secondary school. He graduated with a Master of Music degree in 2002. Apart from the Tapiola Sinfonietta, he plays with the Helsinki Brass Quartet and as an extra with other symphony orchestras. He also plays popular music in a number of ensembles.

Antti Rislakki began his percussion studies in 1977. He graduated from the Tampere Conservatory in 1997, having studied with Tiina Laukkanen, and continued his studies with Tim Ferchen and Lassi Erkkilä at the Sibelius Academy. He went on to study with Russell Hartenberger and Robin Engelman – both members of the NEXUS percussion ensemble – at the University of Toronto. He has played Principal Timpani with the Tapiola Sinfonietta since 2000, and he also teaches percussion at the Sibelius Academy.