Tomas Djupsjöbacka is a founding member of the string quartet Meta4 and also regularly performs as a member of the renowned Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Djupsjöbacka made his conducting debut with the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra in 2013 and has since worked with almost every Finnish orchestra, including the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Oulu Sinfonia, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and Sinfonia Lahti. At the request of the musicians, Djupsjöbacka was invited as principal guest conductor of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, where he worked from autumn 2019 to the end of spring 2022. Djupsjöbacka became chief conductor of the Vaasa City Orchestra in January 2021.
In addition to classical work, Djupsjöbacka has premiered numerous compositions in recent years by Jukka Tiensuu, Veli Kujala, Sampo Haapamäki and Mikko Heiniö, among others, and has teamed up with jugglers, dancers and foley artists in his concerts. In October 2020, Djupsjöbacka visited the Sibelius Festival in Lahti with the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, which performed Sibelius’ music on historical instruments.
Djupsjöbacka started out as a pupil at the West Helsinki Music Institute. He continued his studies under Martti Rousi and Marko Ylönen at the Sibelius Academy, graduating in spring 2003. Djupsjöbacka spent the years 2001–2003 in Switzerland, studying under Patrick Demenga at the Lausanne Conservatory, where he earned his Soloist Diploma with an honorary mention from the jury. He began his conducting studies in 2012 under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He continued his studies in the conducting class of the Sibelius Academy, graduating in 2017. Djupsjöbacka has also participated in master classes by Jorma Panula.
Tomas Djupsjöbacka’s instrument is a rare cello built by Lorenzo Storioni in Cremona in 1780.
J. S. Bach’s mammoth Clavier-Übung series culminates with the Goldberg Variations, a journey of over an hour to the heart of musical form. Created “for music lovers to refresh their spirits”, the wistful aria and its 30 variations have given life to both wild legends and indescribable sentiments for over 250 years. The arrangement for string trio is performed by Minna Pensola, Antti Tikkanen and Tomas Djupsjöbacka of the Meta4 group.
In honorem maris
15.6.
Hardly any element of nature resounds in music as clearly as the sea: its waves, its peace, its endlessness – and its unstoppable power. The soft swells and treacherous undertows of the traditional In Honorem Maris concert is provided by the music of Debussy, Fagerlund and Ravel.
Mozart, the entertainer
17.6.
As well as operas and concertos, W. A. Mozart composed unrivalled light music that was played all over Europe’s courts and spas. The playful Divertimento for three wind instruments was written for the common amusement of a group of friends, while the Divertimento in E-flat major was probably the world’s first string trio. Light or not, every note carries the weight of Mozart’s unique touch.
