Joel LaaksoJoel Laakso started playing the cello at the Riihimäki Music Institute and continued his studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki from 1991, mostly under Martti Rousi. He has also studied under Torleif Thedéen and Mats Zetterqvist at the Edsberg Chamber Music Institute in Stockholm. Joel Laakso has been the cellist of the New Helsinki Quartet since 2001. The quartet has toured widely in Europe and is a regular guest at Finland’s most prestigious festivals. In 2006 Joel Laakso performed the Finnish premières of the Cello Concerto by Boris Tishchenko (with the Tapiola Sinfonietta) and the Cello Sonata by Olli Mustonen (together with the composer).