Born it the United States and grown up in Finland, violinist Elina Vähälä made her concerto debut at the age of 12 with the Sinfonia Lahti, and later in 1993 - 1994 she was chosen to carry the title “the Young Master Soloist” of the Sinfonia Lahti, and since then Vähälä has performed regularly with this Gramophone Award winning orchestra. She also performed with the major orchestras aroud her home country; a.o. the Helsinki, Turku and Tampere Philharmonic orchestras, the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Ostrobotnian Chamber Orchestra and the Virtuosi di Kuhmo chamber orchestra. In 1994-1999 Vähälä studied at the Sibelius Academy with Tuomas Haapanen and in 1998 in Munich with Ana Chumachenko
In 1999 Vähälä was the first prize winner of the Young Concert Artists Internation Auditions in New York. This was followed by a contract with the Young Concert Artist agency. In 2000 Vähälä was a prize winner in the Hannover international violin competition. She performed with orchestras such as the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish Radio Sinfonietta, the Northwest Chamber orchestra in Seattle and with the legendary English Chamber Orchestra in several occations, in London, Finland, Greece, Turkey and South Africa. She has worked among others with conductors Giordano Bellincampi, Ralf Gothoni, Juha Kangas, Sakari Oramo, John Storgårds, Joseph Swensen and Osmo Vänskä.
Elina Vähälä has been a guest artist at several festivals in Finland, Europe, the US, Asia and Africa; at the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Helsinki Festival, Naantali, Turku, Oulu and Korsholm music festivals, La Roque d’Antheron festival and Pablo Casals festivals in Prades and Paris, Spoleto USA, El Paso and Gilmore festivals, the Forbidden City Music Festival in Beijing and the International Classical Music Festival in South Africa. As an active chamber musician Vähälä has performed with such musicians as Juri Bashmet, Ana Chumachenco, Itamar Golan, Ralf Gothoni, Bruno Giuranna, Steven Isserlis, Frans Helmerson, Arto Noras and Georgy Pauk.
In 1999 Vähälä had her critically acclaimed New York debut. In 2001 she appeared in New York again, this time at the Weill Recital hall at the Carnegie Hall in a concert called “Elina Vähälä and friends”.In the season 2003 - 2004 Elina Vähälä will be touring as a chamber musician and recitalist around the US and at the Spoleto USA festival, and as a soloist with the Northwest Chamber Orchestra. She will also appear with the English Chamber Orchestra at the Beethoven Festival in Kraków, in a recital in Cairo and with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Lahti and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Ms. Vähälä plays the Stradivari violin 1678 generously loaned by the Finland’s Cultural Foundation.