Eetu Ranta-aho

I am a Finnish composer actively working in Finland and Japan. I have studied in Finland, Japan and Ghana with a briefer excursion to Malaysia. I also have several years of experience in studying and performing Javanese Gamelan.

These global experiences being an important impetus in many of my works, I aim to create music that sounds fresh yet familiar – fusing microtonality with modality and carefully crafted textures with writing that leaves room for interpretation in live performances. I use a big canvas: striving for large-scale dramaturgical arcs even in my chamber works. Also, playfulness and feeling of lightness are important aspects in my compositions.

In 2025 my work is generously supported by Teosto Cultural Foundation and Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

My most extensive work to date is the 90-minute Japanese-language opera Nemuru Otoko, composed to a libretto by Japanese manga artist Riyoko Ikeda. Nemuru Otoko was premiered in August 2021 as part of the Helsinki Contemporary Opera Festival. It was performed 6 times in total and received critical acclaim.

My other main work is also vocal music. The 30-minute, 9-part song cycle for soprano and orchestra ’9 Teika songs’ was premiered in Tokyo College of Music in 2017, and it has since been performed partially in Bergen, Norway, and as piano arrangement in several occasions in Finland.

My works have been performed by such ensembles and individuals as Avanti!, Uusinta Ensemble, Zagros ensemble, Kaartin Soittokunta, Ensemble Olga, Ensemble Falke, Bergen Youth Philharmonic, Tuuli Lindeberg, Piia Komsi, Petri Kumela and Nobutaka Yoshizawa.

My work has been generously supported by:
Teosto Cultural Foundation
The Finnish Cultural Foundation
Kone Foundation
The Finnish Music Foundation
The Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation
The Finnish-Japanese Society
Wegelius Foundation
Finnish Composer’s Sibelius Fund
Madetoja Fund