Wind Quintet Idée Fixe

Profile

Idée Fixe Wind Quintet was founded in 2003 as an ensemble for a chamber music concert of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. Following the success of their initial collaboration, they began building repertoire and planning further appearances. Since then, Idée Fixe has performed in various concerts in the city of Tampere and its surrounding areas as well as recitals in Helsinki, Ikaalinen, Lohja, Sammatti, Kerava and Uusikaupunki.  The ensemble has also been featured as soloist with the Tampere University Symphony Orchestra. In June 2006 the quintet made a four-concert tour of Japan, performing in Tokyo, Takamatsu and Saitama.

Idée Fixe’s repertoire ranges from music of the classical era, works by Franz Danzi and Mozart, to 20^th century masterpieces by Carl Nielsen, Jean Françaix, Jacques Ibert, and others.  The ensemble has premiered newly commissioned works including “E pari, e te tai” (2006) by New Zealand composer Chris Watson, and Seppo Pohjola’s Wind Quintet (2007).  While established as a quintet, the composition can vary from duos to sextets with piano.  The versatile group has recorded its own arrangements of Christmas music for children and Nielsen’s Wind Quintet for the Finnish Broadcasting Company.

All the members of the quintet are professional musicians in the leading Finnish symphony orchestras. Idée Fixe has received grants from the Alfred Kordelin Foundation, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation and the Finnish Cultural Foundation.

Members

ELINA RAIJAS started her flute studies at the age of 10 in Lohja School of Music. In 1990 she continued her studies with Liisa Ruoho, Ilpo Mansnerus and Mikael Helasvuo in Sibelius Academy  from where she graduated in 2000 with excellent grades. She has also studied in Karlsruhe Music Academy (Germany), in 1996-97 with professor Renate Greiss-Armin and Mathias Allin.

Elina Raijas attended master classes with Aurele Nicolet, Konrad Hünteler and William Bennett.

She  appeared in numerous chamber music and solo recitals around Finland. In 2001 she reached the 2^nd place in National Crusell Flute Competition.

Elina Raijas has worked as the solo flutist in Joensuu City Orchestra and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1999 she has been a member of Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and is nowadays working as the co-principal flutist of HPO.

JUHA ALA began his oboe studies with Marjatta Teirilä in East Helsinki School of Music. He studied further in Helsinki Conservatoire and Sibelius Academy. He graduated the Master’s degree in music in 1992. Juha Ala’s teachers in Sibelius Academy were experienced soloists and pedagogists Sven-Erik Paananen and Jorma Valjakka. He has completed his oboe studies in several master classes with Douglas Boyd, Burkhard Glaetzner and Maurice Bourgue. Juha Ala worked as a freelance musician for several years along with majoring history studies at Helsinki University. He has worked in Tampere Philharmonic since 2001, first as the sub-principal oboist and since 2006 as the co-principal oboist.

REETTA NÄÄTÄNEN started to study music at the age of 3. She studied the piano with Suzuki method for several years before attending Keski-Uusimaa School of Music. Her clarinet studies began in 1982 with one of the Finnish leading clarinetists Kullervo Kojo, with whom she studied first privately and later in Sibelius Academy. Later she continued her studies with Harri Mäki and graduated Master’s degree with excellent grades in 2003. She has also studied with Sapporo Symphony Orchestra’s clarinetist Daizaburo Watanabe in 1999 as an exchange student in Hokkaido University of Education majoring music and Japanese language studies. Reetta Näätänen won the prize of the Finnish Clarinet Society in National Crusell Clarinet Competition in 2002. After attending master classes with Charles Neidich, Richard Stoltzman, Antony Pay, Kari Kriikku etc. she held her debut recital in Sibelius Academy in 2004. Reetta Näätänen has worked as a clarinetist in Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra since 2001 and frequently plays with other symphony orchestras as well.