About Niamh
Niamh McKenna (*1991) is the principal flutist of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Prior to this appointment the German-Irish flutist held the same position with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra from 2014 to 2019. During 2013/14 she was academist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. McKenna has studied in Lübeck, Freiburg, Basel, Amsterdam and Helsinki with teachers such as Angela Firkins, Felix Renggli, Kersten McCall and Petri Alanko. In 2017 she won the International Crusell Flute Competition, and in 2019 received third prize at the Prague Spring International Music Competition. As a guest principal she has been invited by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Finnish as well as the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Finnish National Opera Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra and the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra among others. Niamh frequently performs as a soloist with orchestras throughout Finland.
In 2022 she premiered Kalevi Aho’s concerto for flute and harp under the baton of Osmo Vänskä together with Emmanuel Ceysson (harp) and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. An enthusiastic chambermusician, she performs in major Finnish chambermusic festivals and abroad.
Niamh plays an 18K Muramatsu Flute with 9K keys.
All Videos
All Videos
HKO Screen - Kalevi Aho: Concerto for Flute and Harp
HKO Screen - Claude Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp
Oulu Sinfonia: Dances with the Winds
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune - C. Debussy / Helsinki Chamber Soloists
