Ilkka Taneli Kuusisto (born 26 April 1933) is a Finnish opera composer, conductor, choirmaster and organist.

Education

Kuusisto studied at the Sibelius Academy (now part of the University of the Arts Helsinki), qualifying as an organist in 1954, and a music teacher in 1958. He also studied composition under Aarre Merikanto, and afterwards went on to further his studies in Vienna and New York.

Career

Kuusisto started his career as a church organist, working in that role for nearly two decades. He conducted the Helsinki City Theatre orchestra for most of the 1960s. He taught at Sibelius Academy from 1975 to 1984. He worked for many years in the music department of the Finnish public broadcaster Yle, and also was the artistic director of a leading Finnish music publishing company, Musiikki-Fazer, in the early 1980s. Kuusisto worked extensively as a choirmaster, conducting the Finnish National Opera chorus and the Radio Symphony Chorus for several years, as well as having engagements with many other choirs. His perhaps highest-profile management role was as the Director General of the National Opera, between 1984 and 1992.

Works (selected)

Kuusisto's composition repertoire covers a broad range of genres, from stage and film music, to jazz, choral works, and opera, the last of which he is the best-known.

Orchestral

Vocal

Opera

Screen

Awards and honours

In 1984, Kuusisto received the Pro Finlandia medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland. In 1992, the honorary title of Professori was conferred on Kuusisto.

Personal life

Ilkka Kuusisto's father was the composer and music educator Taneli Kuusisto. Both his sons, Jaakko (1974–2022) and Pekka (born 1976), are also conductors, composers, as well as violinists.