" Laakso is like a Lapland witch conjuring music out of the piano" (Lapin Kansa, 25.3.08)

Anna Laakso, who was elected as the principal keyboardist of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra in autumn 2023, will pursue a career as a musician and performer on a breathtaking scale, without shying away from open-minded activity in various fields of art.

The pianist, who settled in Rovaniemi, has always felt a great passion for chamber music and lieder playing, although she also takes on solo roles with the same intensity.

Anna is a regular guest on the Finnish music festival scene. She has performed at, among others, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Helsinki Festival, Turku Music Festival, Riihimäki Summer Concerts, Rauma Festivo, Loviisa Sibelius festival, as well as concerts in European countries and China.

Her smooth transition into the performing arts is evident in her numerous collaborations in both theatres and dance. Her latest theatre work is the Piaf musical play directed by Hili Iivanainen, which premiered at Tampere Theatre in autumn 2023. Anna has worked as a musical director at Rovaniemi Theatre and Kemi City Theatre from 2013 to 2021, and her job description includes arranging, composing and acting in addition to playing and conducting.

Anna is the alternating artistic director of Nurmes Summer Music and Summer Academy together with pianist Tuija Hakkila and flutist Kaisa Kortelainen. Anna has received artist grants from the Finnish State and the Finnish Cultural Foundation in 2013 and 2016.

Anna studied at the Sibelius Academy's soloist department with Tuija Hakkila, Heini Kärkkäinen and Carlos Juris.

The most important people who inspired his passion for chamber music have been teachers Paavo Pohjola, Ralf Gothoni, Ilmo Ranta and Ilan Gronich.

Anna played her diploma concert in the spring of 2004 and graduated with a Master of Music degree in 2008. She played her first concert in 2011.

Anna has worked with several composers, premiering and recording their works at, for example, the Tampere Biennale and the Musica Nova festival. She has recorded Kaija Saariaho's music for Ondine with violinists Antti Tikkanen and Minna Pensola. Her recordings with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra include chamber music by Mahler, Outi Tarkiainen and Sunleif Rasmussen. Her Gramophone Award-nominated album of Hans Abrahamsen's cult work Schnee won the Emma Award 2023. Her most recent recordings are the album Jampot, released by Alba Records, featuring music by composer Ilari Laakso, recorded with soprano Pia Freund and poet Chrys Salt.

Alongside her work as a concert pianist and theatre conductor, Anna has always had a passion for singing. In addition to smaller ensembles, she has performed as a singer as a soloist with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra and the Joensuu City Orchestra, and at festivals such as Oulunsalo Soi and Nurmesen Kesämusiikki.

Anna's life is determined by her work, her bonus family of four children and her actor husband, her passion for cooking and reading, her love-hate relationship with going to the gym, and all sorts of wondering about the world and life.