16TH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC WORKSHOP AND FESTIVAL

Besides performing Solo recitals in many countries in Europe, North America and Asia, she has performed Concertos (wide range of repertoire from Bach to contemporary, including the pieces such as Trangalila Symphony by Messiaen) with distinguished orchestras such as the Prague Chamber philharmonic Orchestra and the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. She has performed as well many duo recitals with Ruggiero Ricci(Vn), Thomas Zehetmair(Vn) and Antonio Meneses(Vc), and duo and chamber music concerts with artists such as Sandor Vegh(Vn), Mischa Maisky(Vc), Jean-Jacque Kantorow(Vn), Aaron Rosand(Vn), Ralph Kirshbaum(Vc), Steven Isserlis(Vc), András Adorján(Fl), Patrick Gallois(Fl), Maurice Bourgue(Ob), Hansjörg Schellenberger(Ob), Barry Tuckwell(Hr), Atar Arad(Va), Anthony Marwood(Vn), Nobuko Imai(Va) Sergio Azzolini(Fg), Isabelle van Keulen(Vn), Chantal Juillet(Vn), Hermann Baumann(Hr), Regis Pasquier(Vn), Matt Haimovitz(Vc) and Bruno Giuranna(Va).

Ms. Hashimoto was awarded numerous prizes such as the 1st grand prize and the public prize at the Concours International de Musique Française, the top prize at the Concours Musical de France, and the special prizes at the Budapest International Music Competition and at the Spohr International Competition. She has recorded many times for TV and radio all over the world including a series of 20 works by Beethoven for Dutch radio. She has been a frequent performer for CBC (Canada) and BBC (UK) and in 2012, she was chosen as representative performance for the Schubert Impromptus together with Edwin Fischer, William Kapell and Wilhelm Backhaus for BBC “Schubert Marathon”. She has also made more than a dozen CD-recordings, including the early piano pieces (all the Preludes+4 pieces) by Messiaen, 34 piano pieces by Schumann,24 Preludes by Scriabin combined with 24 Preludes by Shostakovich, 4 Impromptus by Schubert and 12 Preludes Book II by Debussy, as well as other piano solo pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Blumenfeld, and Bartok.

She is Professor of Piano and Piano Area Chair at Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and was on the piano faculty and the chamber music faculty of the Utrecht Conservatory in Holland for 12 years. She has been invited many times as a visiting professor at the European Mozart Academy in Poland and in the Czech Republic and at the International Chamber Music Academy in the Czech Republic. She served as an International Jury member for many competitions such as the Gina Bachauer International Piano Artists Competition, CMC Stepping Stone Competition, Montreal International Piano Competition, The Piana del CavaliereInternational Piano Competition (Chair of the Jury) and YAMAHA Benelux Competition. She has been the Artistic Director of the International Music Workshop and Festival (IMWF) in the Czech Republic, Germany and in Portugal since 2004. She has also given master classes atmajor institutions in France, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, the Czech Republic, the U.S.A.,the UK, Holland, Germany, Taiwan,Brazil, China, Thailand and Japan.

During 1990s Rousi played in piano trio with violinist Leonidas Kavakos and pianist Peter Nagy, performing also Beethoven triple and Brahms double concertos. In recitals he appears with pianists like Olli Mustonen, Kathryn Stott, Henri Sigfridsson, Laura Mikkola, Massimo Somenzi and Juhani Lagerspetz. He is also invited to many leading chamber music festivals all over the world. Between 1993 and 2009 Rousi was the artistic director of Turku music festival, during his years many legendary artists like Svjatoslav Richter, Yehudi Menuhin, Vladimir Azkenazy, Valeri Gergiev and Lang Lang appeared there.In 2010 he became the artistic director of SIBAFEST in Helsinki, 2010-2011 he was artistic director of Sibelius –series at Verkatehdas in Hämeenlinna. 2012 he was named artistic director of Suvisoitto in Sysmä. He has been serving as a jury member for major international competitions like the XIV Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow 2011and 2015,Vittorio Gui in Florence, Lyon International duo competition, Eleanore Schoenfeld competition,Mravinsky competition, Solistpriset in Stockholm and Paulo cello competition in Helsinki.

Since 1995 Rousi has been professor of cello at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. His cello class there is attracting talents from around the world. In 2016 he was invited to be a guest professor at the Shanghai conservatory of music.In 2010 Rousi formed a cello ensemble Sibelius academy cello virtuosi with his best students and since they have been performing in prominent concert halls like Mariinsky concert hall, Tampere talo and Verkatehdas in Hämeenlinna. Summer 2017 they were invited to prestigious Stars of the White Nights festival. Rousi is invited to do masterclasses in leading academies on all continents, he regularily teaches at the House of Music in St Petersburg. His recordings include several solo and chamber recordings for ONDINE and FINLANDIA labels. He plays on cellos by Carlo Giuseppe Testore from 1690 and J-B Lefevre from 1760, his favourite bow is FX Tourte from 1810.

The performance of Scelsi's violin concerto ”Anahit” with the Koechlin Ensemble for the Süddeutsche Rundfunk led to further involvement with contemporary music, both as orchestral musician and as soloist. For many years Helge Slaatto was concert master of Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen, and the Danish composer Svend Hvidtfelt Nielsen composed a violin concerto for Helge Slaatto and the Randers Chamber Orchestra, where Slaatto for several years was concert master, as well as a suite for solo violin. (He was also rewarded the special prize of the Randers Chamber Orchestra).

Helge Slaatto's more than 20 years collaboration with German double bass player Frank Reinecke has led to more than 50 premieres for the ensemble, the latest being the 70 minutes' Raga by German composer Wolfgang von Schweinitz, which had its highly successful premiere in Hamburg June 08 and was performed in Los Angeles, Munich, Berlin , Copenhagen and the Lucerne Festival. The CD recording on the label NEOS was rewarded with the "Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik".

The earlier recording of the ensemble, ”Together” (amb 97845) was praised as ”one of the best recordings of the year” and ”Street Music”, the following recording, was given maximum points by Klassik Heute (amb 96882).

The classical standard repertoire, in particular romantic music, is very close to his heart, not least due to intensive collaboration with several very fine pianist like the late Roberto Szidon, Jan Latham- Koenig, Wolfgang Plagge and Einar Steen-Nøkleberg. With Steen- Nøkleberg he performed all three Grieg sonatas at the Grieg Festival in Oslo, 2008.

Helge Slaatto is a devoted teacher, he loves teaching and being witness to the successes of young musicians. So e.g. in case of the young Suyoen Kim, who was his student for 12 years, winning top prices at several international competitions like the Mozart Competition, the Joachim Competition and the Queen Elisabeth Competition, and performing with conductors such as Walter Weller , Jan Latham-Koenig, Kurt Masur and Maris Jansons.

He gave courses in Germany, Greece, Denmark, Portugal, Mexico, USA and South Korea and was artistic director of the SynCrete Festival on Crete, Greece, from 1995- 2000, and the Late Summer Festival in Denmark from 2014.