Leif Segerstam
Biography Leif Segerstam
Riko Eklundh
was born in Helsinki in 1965 and graduated from the Helsinki Theatre Academy in 1989. He started his professional career at Abo Svenska Teater and has varied his career between permanent and freelance engagements, particularly working at the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki. He has also worked at the Theatre Viirus, Lilla Teatern, Espoo City Theatre and at the Wasa Theatre. Relevant musical rôles include the part of Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, Motel in Fiddler on the Roof, Albin/Zaza in La Cage aux Folles and the Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret. Important stage rôles include leading characters in Amadeus, Topelius, Peer Gynt, Den dansande prästen and Kontrakt med Gud. In addition he has contributed to many TV series and movies. He has also worked with radio, documentaries and as a solo artist and as narrator with different choirs and orchestras.
Leif Segerstam
is a conductor, composer, violinist and pianist with a prominent international career. Since 2012 he has been Chief Conductor of Turku Philharmonic Orchestra. From autumn 1997 to spring 2013 Leif Segerstam was Professor of Orchestra Conducting at the Sibelius Academy. He was awarded the 1999 Nordic Council Music Prize for his work “as a tireless champion of Scandinavian music” and the Swedish Cultural Foundation’s Prize for Music in 2003. In 2004 Leif Segerstam was awarded the annual Finnish State Prize for Music and in 2005 the highly esteemed Sibelius Medal. He has gained wide acclaim for his many recordings with different orchestras. While pursuing his conducting career, Segerstam has also produced an extensive oeuvre as a composer.