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I was born in Savonlinna, Finland, and grew up in the Northwoods of Ely, Minnesota. My early musical influences include my mother's Finnish heritage, and popular albums from the 60's and 70's. Because I grew up close to nature, I associate most of my favorite music with it. 
I became a student of Helina Pakola when I was nine, and she ultimately inspired me to pursue further musical education. Instruction began with the Suzuki violin method, and eventually I joined the "Singing Strings," Helina's internationally-known traveling performance group. The "Singing Strings" repertoire includes Hoedown and Classical genres, but the focus is playing, singing, and dancing to traditional Finnish folk music. Then Young-Nam Kim accepted me as his student at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and I studied Classical violin under him for five years, earning a Bachelor's in Violin Performance. In addition to Mr. Kim's University teaching position, he serves as artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota. With aid from the society, public grants, and a formidable grassroots effort, Mr. Kim and I founded Ely's very own Northern Lights Chamber Music Institute, which celebrated its fourth year in August 2005. Pat Surface and I began playing music together in 2003. Through our musical collaborations, (such as Pathfinder in Lonely Land) live performance, and the recording process, I have had the opportunity to learn new styles of playing. Signing on to the Spiritwood Music Record Label and touring nationally have allowed me to use the knowledge I've gathered, and to reconnect with original youthful inspirations. "Lonely Land" (my second solo CD following my debut album, "Listening Point") celebrates the source of this inspiration: Nature. Thank you for 'Listening' Eli ~ 
 
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