Antti Räty

Trumpet, principal

I began playing the trumpet at the age of about seven, somewhat reluctantly. My father had attempted to get me to play the piano earlier. At rehearsals of the village wind band, I was more interested in playing football during the breaks. In primary school and even early on in secondary school, I dreamed of becoming a farmer or a forester, but I eventually came around to realising that music might be the career for me.

By way of the Turku Folk Conservatory, the Turku Conservatory and various summer courses, I ended up studying at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin. I had planned on staying in Berlin for one or two years, but I realised that it would take longer for me to learn the German style of playing. So I went to the Karajan Academy for another year, during which almost by accident I won an audition for Principal Trumpet with the Rhine Philharmonic at Koblenz. In the event, one year in Rhineland was enough for me, and indeed for the Rhinelanders. I soon found a similar position in my favourite city, with the Berlin Symphonic Orchestra, later renamed the Berlin Symphony. Having enjoyed the sound of Berlin for a while, I returned to Finland, partly for family reasons. I spent a couple of winters with the Guards Band, after which I joined the Tapiola Sinfonietta. Some things have not changed: I still enjoy breaks the most, and trumpet players have plenty of rests.

Although it is said that there is plenty of room for noise in the world, I have not had very much to do with music in my leisure time over the past 30 years. Farming, forestry and noise of that sort are particularly pleasant, though. I am also empowered by deer casserole, ice cream and mämmi [a traditional Finnish malted rye pudding], the latter particularly at Easter. Smoke sauna and swimming, especially in the cold, warm my mind and body.