Concertmaster

Vesa-Matti Leppänen

Vesa-Matti Leppänen, Concertmaster of the NZSO was born and raised in Turku, Finland. After completing his studies at the Turku Conservatory and Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Vesa-Matti Leppänen joined the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the oldest symphony orchestras in Europe. Over the following ten years he held a number of positions including Principal Second Violin, Third Concertmaster and Co-Concertmaster.

At only 16 years of age, Vesa-Matti Leppänen won the prestigious Heinonen National Violin Competition for young violinists and the same year joined Concordo String Quartet, which went on to win a special prize at the 1989 Tulindberg International String Quartet Competition.These successes helped him to develop an active stage career as both soloist and chamber musician.

Since moving to New Zealand in 2000, Vesa-Matti Leppänen has toured the country as NZSO Concertmaster, soloist and chamber musician, working alongside internationally renowned soloists such as Pinchas Zukerman, Hillary Hahn and Lang-Lang. Leppänen has also performed as a featured soloist with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia and Christchurch Symphony and his solo engagements in New Zealand have included concertos by Mozart, Sibelius, Lalo and Prokofiev.

Vesa-Matti Leppänen / Photo: Robert Catto

Vesa-Matti Leppänen led the NZSO on its European/Japanese Tour in 2005, which included an unforgettable performance at the BBC Proms and a solo performance of Takemitsu’s ‘Nostalghia’ in Japan. In 2007 he was invited to perform as a guest Concertmaster for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra on their Sidney Myer Summer Series.

Vesa-Matti Leppänen is a featured artist with Naxos Records. His latest recording of Lyell Cresswell’s work for violin and voice (with Madeleine Pierard) has won critical acclaim. He also teaches at the NZ School of Music and the Queenstown Violin Summer School and is a member of the jury for the Michael Hill International Violin Competition and the National Concerto Competition in Christchurch.

Vesa-Matti Leppänen performs on a Gennaro ‘Januarius’ Gagliano 1770 violin, on loan from Diessl Investments Ltd.