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Sebastian Iivonen

Piano

“…young rising star in the very beginning of his career who is for the upcoming years, going to be the face outwards for EPTA Sweden and a positive role model for upcoming generations” — 2022/23 EPTA-Sweden (European Piano Teachers Association) Sebastian Iivonen (b.1997) was born in Stockholm, Sweden where he began his piano studies at the age of six with Natalia Kazimirovskaia and Tamara Poddubnaya. He has then received his Bachelors degree at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm/Edsberg Manor studied under Mats Widlund. 

Sebastian is both active as a soloist and a chamber musician in various important national and international music festivals in Europe and U.S.A. He has received masterclasses with internationally recognized artists and professors such as Rena Shereshevskaya, Stephen Kovacevich, Leif Ove Andsnes, Konstantin Scherbakov, Sergei Edelmann, Paul Roberts, Erik T. Tawaststjerna, Roland Pöntinen et al.

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Last year, Sebastian represented Sweden in two major international piano competitions in both 76th Concours de Genève and 64th Busoni International Piano Competition. In June 2023, Sebastian achieved a remarkable feat by securing a spot as a semifinalist in the highly acclaimed ITURBI International Piano Competition held in Valencia, Spain. With an initial pool of 185 talented applicants, Sebastian emerged as one of the selected few to make it to the semifinals, where only 10 coveted spots were available.