Essi Höglund
Essi Höglund (born 1997) is a violinist from Kotka, Finland, who studies at the Sibelius Academy and at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna under the world-renowned violinist of the Alban Berg Quartet, professor Gerhard Schulz. Höglund is a very active musician and performs a lot of chamber music and orchestra music in addition to her solo work.
She has performed as a soloist with several orchestras, among others the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, the Kuopio Philharmonic, Kymi Sinfonietta, and the orchestras of Kälviä and Liminka music festivals.
As a chamber musician, she has in the recent past performed at the Helsingin Kamarikesä Festival, in the Nordischer Klang Festival in Greifswald, the Elokuun Illat Festival in Hamina, the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, the Lohisoitto Festival in Kymijoki, and the Santander International Chamber Music Festival.
Höglund has been awarded 2nd prize in the Jyväskylä Violin Competition and 3rd prize in the Tallinn International Young Musician Competition, where she also earned the prize for the best interpretation of an obligatory piece.
She started her studies at the age of 4 in the Kotka Music School under Merle Kaadu, and went on to study at the youth department of the Sibelius Academy as a 13-year-old under professor Réka Szilvay. In addition to studies at the youth department, she was chosen to participate in the Violin Academy with teachers Ilya Grubert, Elina Vähälä, and Janne Malmivaara. During her studies, she has taken part in numerous master classes, e.g. with Ana Chumachenco, Mi-Kyung Lee, Pinchas Zukerman, Zakhar Bron, and Tuomas Haapanen. She has collaborated with Augustin Dumay and Nobuko Imai, among others.
Höglund played her first recital at the Kotka Concert House in the spring of 2014 with pianist Esa Ylönen. She was invited as a commentator in the Sibelius Violin Competition of 2015 for the Finnish National Broadcasting Company Yle’s online stream broadcasts along with Tami Pohjola and Abel Puustinen.
In the autumn of 2017, she was chosen as the concertmaster for the collaboration between the Sibelius Academy and Juilliard School, with concerts conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen in the Helsinki Music Centre, the Berwardhallen in Stockholm, and the Alice Tully Hall in New York. The concerts got praise in reviews by e.g. The New York Times, Helsingin Sanomat, and The Millbrook Independent: “The orchestra played with admirable energy and intensity. Concertmaster violinist Essi Höglund was especially impressive with tone and energy.” Media company Vapamedia produced a documentary about the project with Höglund as the person of focus. The documentary can be seen online and is also shown on Finnair’s long-haul flights.
During the last year, Höglund has played as a part-time substitute in the first violin section of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and from time to time, she plays with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Sinfonia Lahti. Her work has been supported by the Pro Musica Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Kymenlaakso Foundation, the Wegelius Foundation, the Support Foundation of Finnish Tone Art, the Sibelius Academy, Lions Club Karhula, and Lions Club Kotka. She plays a Stradivarius violin, loaned to her by the Sibelius Academy.