Pianist Heini Kärkkäinen received her Master of Music from the Sibelius Academy under Liisa Pohjola and furthered her studies with Ralf Gothóni and Jacques Rouvier (Paris). She won the Ilmari Hannikainen Piano Competition in 1984 and placed second in the Maj Lind Piano Competition in 1986. Kärkkäinen has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in Finland, Spain, and Italy. She also performs extensively across Europe and the US as a chamber musician with Robert Cohen, Priya Mitchell, Réka Szilvay and Yuval Gotlibovich. Heini has appeared at numerous festivals around the world, premiered a significant amount of contemporary Finnish music, and made several prize-winning recordings. Kärkkäinen has been senior lecturer in piano at Tampere University since 2010. In 2017 she founded an international chamber music festival that combines music and well-being. Kärkkäinen recently performed as piano soloist in the Finnish National Ballet's production of "Death in Venice," choreographed by the legendary John Neumeier.