Jukka Untamala is a Finnish conductor and violinist. He is the Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of Joensuu City Orchestra and the Artistic Director of Lohja City Orchestra. He is also an artistic director of the acclaimed Helsinki Seriös concert series and as a member of the Kamus String Quartet, artistic director of the renowned Our Festival at Lake Tuusula. He studied conducting under the esteemed professor Jorma Panula, violin at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and chamber music at the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA).

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Jukka is also well known as a chamber musician and has visited most of Finland’s Music Festivals and performs regularly across Europe. With the Kamus Quartet he has won many competition prizes, including the Emma award for the best album of the year and the Recording of the Year prize from the Finnish National Broadcasting Company (Yle).  

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Jukka has much experience as concertmaster and section leader in many of Finland’s major orchestras and is now building a reputation as a respected conductor in Finland. His repertoire is wide, with its foundations in the Classical tradition and with a fresh approach to music of the Romantic era. He also has a keen interest in contemporary music and has brought his typically inspiring and energetic approach to Finnish premieres by composers such as Outi Tarkiainen, Andrea Tarrodi and Cecilia Damström.

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As guest conductor he has worked with many orchestras across Finland including Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Oulu Sinfonia and Jyväskylä, Kuopio and Vaasa City Orchestras. He has worked with soloists including Pekka Kuusisto, Elina Vähälä, Olli Mustonen and Ismo Eskelinen. This season he returns to conduct the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra for the City’s 250th anniversary celebrations and makes his debut with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.