Sami Junnonen

Sami Juhani Junnonen (born July 1, 1977) is a Finnish flutist from Tampere. 
Junnonen received his professional training in classical music at the Sibelius Academy, the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Lyon, the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, and international master classes. He graduated with a Master's degree in music, with distinction, from the Sibelius Academy's Music Performance Programme in 2008. Junnonen gave his debut recital at the Helsinki Music Centre in 2012. Junnonen is a member of the Finnish Soloists’ Association.
==Solo career==
Sami Junnonen has premiered several works by prominent contemporary composers, including Jimmy López, Judith Bingham, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, and his native composers Uljas Pulkkis, Aki Yli-Salomäki, Juha Leinonen and Tuomas Turriago.
Junnonen has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Houston Symphony, The Karol Namyslowski Symphonic Orchestra, the Oltenia Philharmonia, The Pazardzhik Symphony, the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru, the Kymi Sinfonietta, and the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra.
Junnonen aims to promote international cultural collaboration between Finland and other countries by performing, teaching flute and chamber music, and creating artistic projects. He has performed in classical music festivals around the world, for example in Sounds New – Contemporary Music Festival 2011 in Canterbury, UK,The Flutist Quarterly, Vol. 44, Summer 2019 the International Music@Malling festival 2015 in UK, the NFA 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah, US, the International Flute Festival Flautando 2019 in Boswil, Switzerland, The Saint-Georges International Music Festival 2019 in Guadeloupe,Three Choirs Festival 2022 in Hereford, UK, the Tampere Biennale 2022 and the Tampere Flute Fest 2024 in Tampere, Finland, and the Hermans Festival 2024 in Terni, Italy.
He has given concerts and masterclasses in the universities of Illinois, US; in Vienna, Austria; Cardiff, UK; Buenos Aires, Peru and Ecuador; Prague, the Czech Republic; and Padova, Italy.
==Orchestral work==
Sami Junnonen has worked as the principal flutist i.a. in the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, the Cairo Symphony in Egypt, and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in New Zealand.
==Recording career==
Sami Junnonen has recorded for Resonus Classics, Alba Records, Pilfink Records, and SibaRecords. His performances have also been recorded by The Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), Radio Television Hong Kong, and Radio New Zealand. His recording of Mozart's flute quartets won the audience award for Yleisradio's ‘Record of the Year 2018’, and his CD album Flute Concertos by Ibert, Jolivet & Rodrigo released by Resonus Classics received international recognition and was chosen as Album of the Week (Ugens album) in September 2024 by The Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR).
===Discography===
* Flute Concertos by Ibert, Jolivet & Rodrigo – Helsinki Chamber Orchestra, conducted by James S. Kahane, Resonus Classics, 2024
* Telemann: Twelve Fantasias for Solo Flute, Resonus Classics, 2023
* Bach: Flute Oeuvre I, with Markku Mäkinen (organ), Alba Records, 2022
* Mozart: Flute Quartets, with Chamber Domaine, Resonus Classics, 2018
* Laet Lauloi – The Chant Enchanted, with Eva Alkula, Elisa Kerola, and Heidi Äijälä (kantele), SibaRecords, 2015
Category:1977 births
Category:Finnish flautists
Category:Finnish people
Category:People from Tampere