All audio samples are ca. 30 seconds and in MP3 -format.

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PASI PIRINEN

Pasi Pirinen (born 1969) picked up the trumpet at the age of eight in his hometown of Tornio. He studied at the junior department of the Sibelius Academy under Pertti Kulku and between 1988-92 at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London under John Miller. He has further studied in the USA with Michael Sachs and Charles Schlueter and in Paris with Antoine Curé.

Pirinen started his orchestral career in 1992 in Argentina as Principal Trumpeter of the Orchestra of San Luis and the Córdoba Symphony. He freelanced in London from 1994 before taking up his current position of Principal Trumpet in the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Helsinki in 1995. He also holds the position of Principal Trumpet with the Avanti! ensemble and is a founding member of the Finnish Brass Symphony.

Pirinen has performed as a recitalist and an orchestral soloist in and around Europe, the USA and South America. In addition to performing the core traditional repertoire he has been active in the contemporary music scene by commissioning and giving first perfomances of several new works for solo trumpet. Recent solo performances of works in the contemporary genre include a performance in 2001 of the Trumpet Concerto by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies with the Finnish Radio Symphony conducted by Sakari Oramo. Pirinen is a member of faculty at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and also frequently gives masterclasses, most recently in London and New York.

In 1998 Pirinen won 1st Prize in the International Trumpet Guild/Ellsworth Smith Solo Trumpet Competition in the USA. Previous competition successes include 2nd Prize in the 1987 Concertino Praga Competition. In !999 Pirinen was chosen 'Brass Player of the Year' in Finland. His first solo album 'Heptade' (JaseCD 0033) was released in the spring of 2001.

MP3 file where Pasi Pirinen plays P.M. Davies Sonata (1st movement) is available here (duration 1'48''). You'll need an MP3 player in order to listen MP3 files.

Press photos are available: [photo 1] [photo 2]