Bio

Kaapo Ijas (b.1988) is the Mills Williams Junior Fellow in Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music. He has been fiercely interested in composing, performance, drama, group dynamics, and the orchestra itself for all his life. In 2012 it led him to conducting studies first in Sibelius Academy then Zürcher Hochschule der Künste and ultimately Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where he graduated in 2017.

His teachers during his studies and masterclasses include Jorma Panula, Johannes Schlaefli, Jaap van Zweden, Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, David Zinman, Neeme and Paavo Järvi and Atso Almila. Ijas has conducted i.a. Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Norrköping SO, South Jutland SO, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Gävle Symfoniorkester, Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester (Mannheim), Hradec Kralove Philharmonia, KMH Symphony Orchestra, Seinäjoki City Orchestra, KammarensembleN, Norrbotten NEO, Swedish Army Band, Helsinki Police band and numerous other project ensembles and choirs during masterclasses and in concerts.

Ijas has been invited to various prestigious masterclasses including Gstaad Menuhin Festival 2018 with Jaap van Zweden, Riccardo Muti Opera Academy 2017 in Ravenna, the 8th Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich masterclass with David Zinman in 2017, and Järvi Academy with Paavo and Neeme Järvi in 2016. He was a semifinalist in Donatella Flick Conducting Competition 2016 after invited to the competition with 2 weeks' notice and among the top 7 in Cadaqués Conducting Competition 2017. In 2018 Ijas was selected as 24 conductors from 566 applicants to take part in the Nikolai Malko competition in Copenhagen and won the 3rd prize in Jorma Panula Conducting Competition in Vaasa.

Ijas has been an assistant conductor in several opera productions including Aïda at Stockholm Royal Opera with Pier Giorgio Morandi in 2018, Kurt Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at NorrlandsOpera in Umeå During fall of 2016 with Damian Iorio and during spring of 2018, he assisted Sasha Mäkilä in OperaBox production of Rigoletto. He has also conducted opera productions in co-operation with Operahögskolan in Stockholm including Behind the Masks (combined production of Don Giovanni and Così fan Tutte) and STHLM New Opera 2017.

Ijas is the founder and conductor of ArtsOrchestra, a student orchestra specializing in combining other arts, pedagogical elements, and social criticism with concert music. Such concerts have been i.a. Nutcracker 2.0 (New dramaturgical arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s ballet with audiovisual elements and contemporary dance) and Ekokalypsi (composition of Ijas for orchestra and mixed choir, with the text dealing with environmental issues).

Broadmindedness and unprejudiced attitude towards other arts and all genres are in the very core of Ijas‘ approach. Music, like any other art, is breathing together whatever the style or period.

Kaapo’s studies and projects are supported by Suomen Kulttuurirahasto, Wihuri Foundation, Taiteen edistämiskeskus, Suomen Säveltaiteen Tukisäätiö and The Sibelius Academy Foundation.

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Reviews

"Of all the most effortless and technically most versatile was the finn Kaapo Ijas who conducted the fourth act of Aïda – and he is clearly in the beginning of a big carreer."

"Kaapo has the most eloquent and efficient gestures – he knows what he wants (from the orchestra)."

"The choir and the ensemble had a demanding task. The 11-piece ensemble and Kaapo Ijas, who had re-orchestrated the score and skillfully led the performance, deserve a special mention."

Media

Photos

Videos

Mendelssohn: Symphony no 3, "Schottish"

Audio

Contact

+358 44 5260788

kaapo.ijas @ gmail.com