Ulla Suokko, flute

Concert flutist and performing artist Ulla Suokko, enjoys a versatile career sharing the magic of music, poetry and stories with audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Active both as a soloist and chamber musician, she has been featured in some of New York City's most prestigious concert halls and in many other venerated concert venues throughout the East Coast, Europe and Central Asia. Her performances are heard regularly throughout the New York Metropolitan area and New York City's classical radio station WNYC has often broadcast her recordings and live performances. Ms. Suokko has been a featured artist at many summer festivals in her native Finland, including the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and Uusikaupunki Crusell Festival. Last year brought her to perform at international festivals also to Tashkent, Uzbekistan and to Ulan Bator and Gobi desert in Mongolia. This year her performances include concerts in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.

Performing regularly with some of New York's best contemporary music ensembles, she collaborates with composers, inspiring new works for her instrument. She has premiered scores of works, including several dedicated to her. Complementing her musical work, Ms. Suokko also gives workshops for both musicians and non-musicians on stress release, relaxation techniques, listening, communicating and exploring sounds and silence through improvisation. An advocate of the healing power of music, she brings concerts and healing energy to hospitals, nursing homes and into the homes of hospice care patients.

In addition to solo and chamber music performances in the traditional concert hall, she often brings music into more intimate settings, creating special tailor-made programs for a variety of audiences. Always searching for new ways of communicating and reaching for the hearts of people, she enjoys exploring and expanding the possibilities of expression. Ms. Suokko earned the Master of Music degree from Sibelius Academy, Finland and a Performer's Certificate from Eastman School of Music. While still living in Finland, she was flutist in the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and spent many summers studying and performing in Italy. She has taught master classes in the U.S., Europe and Central Asia. She holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Julliard School, where she studied with Julius Baker. In her spare time Ms. Suokko enjoys reading and writing, exploring languages and cultures, practicing Shorin Ryu karate as well as dancing flamenco and Argentinean tango.