Riitta-Liisa Ristiluoma

What a great feeling it was to be accepted in an audition for the very first time. The year was 2004, I was 21 years old, and the Tapiola Sinfonietta was looking for a parental leave substitute for a couple of years. The rush was incredible: I can do this, I’m good enough!

Thinking back, it was quite a mad move on the part of the orchestra to take on a rookie like me. It was the best school that I’ve ever had and an honour to be treated as an equal by such solid professionals. What better way to learn your craft than to observe and work with colleagues at the top of their game!

Not long after – well, 19 years later to be precise – I returned to the scene of the crime, as it were, and was hired as Principal Viola starting in autumn 2023.

The years in between had seen me studying at the Sibelius Academy and at the Academy of Music in Cologne, playing with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra as a desk player and Deputy Principal, and finally with the Orchestra of the Finnish National Opera as Principal Viola. I had also gained experience in playing period instruments with the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra. I had likewise kept up to date with contemporary music as a member of Avanti!, and I still play with the Avanti! Quartet today.

My desk partner Jussi and I share not only this noble instrument but also an interest in good food and cooking – I have many (way too many) inspiring cookbooks in my kitchen. I have a deal with myself: no more new cookbooks unless I get rid of an equal number of old ones. So far, I’ve reneged on the deal every time.