Sami Junnonen
FLUTE SOLOIST
Sami Junnonen is the number one flautist in Finland.
Kare Eskola
Music Journalist, The Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle)
Junnonen is a true, inspiring artist full of talent and knowledge. His musicianship sets new standards for the flute in decades to come.
Hannu Lintu
Music Director of the Gulbenkian Orchestra
Chief Conductor, Finnish National Opera and Ballet
Junnonen keeps impressing his audience with his great talent, technically sovereign, and with his intensity and longing for musical expression. He keeps exploring the repertoire and possibilities on the flute, and is showing a remarkable mastery of his instrument throughout the whole range of expression, dynamics, pitch, rhythms.
Emmanuel Pahud
Flute Soloist, Warner Classical exclusive artist
Principal Flute, The Berliner Philharmoniker
Sami Junnonen (b. 1977, Tampere, Finland) enjoys a varied and successful career as an internationally acclaimed flutist. His virtuosity, musicality, and comfort within a wide and diverse repertoire have led him to collaborate with a remarkable array of celebrated artists, composers, and ensembles. His 2012 debut recital at the Helsinki Music Centre in his native Finland, and his 2018 solo debut with the Houston Symphony Orchestra in Texas, USA, received outstanding reviews.
In December 2017, Junnonen officially represented Finland on its centenary as an independent republic with a tour to Russia. His recording of The Complete W.A. Mozart Flute Quartets with Chamber Domaine, released by Resonus Classics, won the Audience Award in the Finnish Album of the Year 2018, promoted by the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). His 2024 release, Flute Concertos – Ibert, Jolivet & Rodrigo (Resonus Classics), was chosen as the Album of the Week by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). The Flute View, the leading American flute magazine, described the release as “a colossal album that will inspire for generations to come.”
Junnonen records for Alba Records, Resonus Classics, Pilfink, and SibaRecords. He has also recorded for the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), Radio New Zealand (RNZ), as well as for Sony BMG, BR-Klassik, Naxos, and Ondine. A frequent competition juror and award winner, his artistic work has been supported by major cultural institutions.
In addition to his solo career, Junnonen has served as principal flutist in several renowned orchestras, including the Iceland Symphony, the Cairo Symphony, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, the Auckland Philharmonia in New Zealand, and the Royal Northern Sinfonia in the UK. He has taught flute and chamber music performance at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and Fordham University in New York, USA, and has conducted masterclasses around the world.
Junnonen studied at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Lyon, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, and in various masterclasses. He holds an MMus degree (2008) with Distinction and a Special Prize from the Sibelius Academy, and plays 24-carat and 14-carat gold flutes handcrafted by the Muramatsu Flute MFG. Co., Ltd.