Bellosio String Quartet

The Bellosio Quartet has performed in Finland at concert series and music festivals, including the Sysmän Suvisoitto, Bomba Festivals and Hetta Music Days. The quartet has also performed in France and Norway. In 2002, the Bellosio Quartet was the recipient of a financial grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation.

The name of the quartet is derived from the Anselmo Bellosio violin (1770) played by Liina Nuora-Loijas. Sysmän Osuuspankki (a bank in Finland), owner of the Bellosio violin, has graciously loaned this fine instrument to Liina Nuora, with the support of Sysmän Suvisoiton Tuki ry. The instrument was first played in Finland by Liisi Nuora-Kapanen.

Liina Nuora-Loijas is a first violinist in the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. She received her Master´s Degree from the Sibelius Academy in 2001. Her principal teachers were Igor Bezrodnyi and Mi-kyung Lee. She came fourth in the IX Kuopio Violin Competition and received a special award in 2000 from Oy Yleisradio AB ( Finnish Radio).

Liisi Nuora-Kapanen is Associate Concertmaster at the Jyväskylä Sinfonia. She received her Master of Music (1993) from the Tschaikowsky Conservatory in Moscow. Her principal teachers were Alexandre Vinnitski and Tuomas Haapanen. In 1989 she won Second Place in the VII Kuopio Violin Competition and has performed extensively with the Finnish Chamber Orchestra and the Focus Piano Trio and Focus Ensemble.

Tiina Konttinen works as a lecturer in viola music at the Itä-Helsinki Music Institute. She received her diploma from the Sibelius Academy in 1997. She studied with Matti Hirvikangas and at the Rubin Academy in Tel Aviv, Israel, with Yuri Gandelsman. She has performed with the Tapiola Sinfonietta and held permanent positions with the Turku Philharmonic, Tampere Philharmonic and Jyväskylä Sinfonia (principal viola).

Maija Juuti is a cellist in the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. In the spring of 2004 she received her A-diploma from Sibelius Academy with excellent grades under the baton of Jan-Erik Gustafsson and Risto Poutanen. In 2004 -2005 she studied, among others, with Csaba Szilvay at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland. In 2006 she won the 4. prize in the Turku Cello Competition (Finland).

FORTHCOMING CONCERTS:

Sunday 4 November 2007 at 7:00pm Raahe-hall (Finland), Sebastian Fagerlund: String Quartet Nr. 1 "Verso L'interno" (wp)