Photo: Jaakko Paarvala

Niamh McKenna

German-Irish flutist Niamh McKenna (*1991) was appointed principal flute of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra in 2019, a position which she had previously been holding with the Turku Philharmonic since she moved to Finland in 2014. During 2013/14 she was academist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. McKenna has studied with Angela Firkins (Lübeck) , Felix Renggli (Basel) , Kersten McCall (Amsterdam) and Petri Alanko (Sibelius Academy). She was successful in competitions such as the 2017 International Crusell Flute Competition where she won 1st prize as well as the International Prague Spring Competition 2019 (3rd prize). As a soloflutist she has played in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Finnish as well as Swedish Radio Orchestra among others. She frequently performs as a soloist with Finnish orchestras, as a chambermusician she can be heard in major Festivals throughout Finland.