The musician was also a noted pedagogue, teaching cello, Baroque cello, viola da gamba and music history
The Finnish cellist and pedagogue Lauri Pulakka died on 9 July at the age of 62. As well as performing in the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, he was a respected tutor of cello, Baroque cello, viola da gamba and music history at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.
Born on 4 May 1962, Pulakka studied the cello under Jouko Paavola at the Central Ostrobothnia Music College. In 1972 the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra was founded at the college, and Pulakka joined as a cellist in its first year of operation. He continued his studies at the Sibelius Academy, but returned to the orchestra to take up the position of first solo cellist and programme coordinator. He also studied in the UK and France, developing a keen interest in the Baroque cello and the viola da gamba.
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Pulakka performed in the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and the early music group Barocco Boreale band, as well as the Kokkola Quartet. He was also a member of the Jones Band, along with violinist Kreeta-Maria Kentala and harpsichordist Mitzi Meyerson, which performed Baroque sonatas. He was the artistic director of Hetta Music Days, the northernmost Finnish music festival, from 2014 to 2019.
As well as at the Sibelius Academy and Central Ostrobothnia Music College, Pulakka taught at the Novia and Centria universities of applied sciences. Pulaka He performed on a Baroque cello made in 1718 by Thomas Edlinger in Prague, on loan from the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
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