THE RESONANCE ATLAS
Harri Ahmas
Biography
Harri Ahmas (born 1957 in Vaasa) is a Finnish composer and bassoonist. He studied composition at the Sibelius Academy with Einar Englund and Einojuhani Rautavaara, and pursued bassoon studies in Finland and elsewhere in Europe. He played with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1980 to 1989 and served as principal bassoon of Sinfonia Lahti from 1989 to 2025. His extensive catalogue includes symphonies, concertos, chamber operas, wind-orchestra music and chamber works. Ahmas's career brings together the perspectives of a professional orchestral player and a composer with a wide-ranging interest in instrumental colour.
Why this music interests us
Ahmas offers an unusually direct connection between contemporary composition and the working life of a bassoonist. His Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra (2023) is an immediate point of interest, while his wider chamber catalogue deserves exploration for smaller Resonance programmes. His music could open a valuable conversation about Finnish repertoire beyond the composers most familiar to British audiences.
Selected works & listening
Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra (2023); Concerto for Piano and Wind Orchestra (2011); Sydänvirrat (chamber opera); Käärmesormus (chamber opera)
Further information