AALTO, Sointu

Sointu Aalto is a composer and cellist born in Finland in 2004 and currently based in Montreal. Her music explores the connections between mathematics, poetry, raw drama, timbral intensity, and intertextuality. Her compositions have been commissioned and performed internationally by ensembles including Kymi Sinfonietta Orchestra in Finland, UltraViolet Ensemble in Edmonton, MATA festival in New York with Bergamot Quartet, New Music Edmonton, and Continuum Contemporary Music in Toronto. She has received multiple awards for her compositions, including a SOCAN Young Composers Award in 2024.

Sointu is an active cellist, as a solo performer and in ensembles. In 2024, she made her orchestral debut with the Vancouver Island Symphony, performing Dvorak’s Cello Concerto and her own new composition uni vers uni. Sointu has also collaborated with pop/rock/indie artists in recording (such as working for 1844 movie studio) and in live performance (such as on the Andy & Shani 2025 Montreal Visit). In 2022, she won the Northern Alberta Concerto Competition and performed Lutoslawski’s Cello Concerto with the Edmonton Youth Orchestra.She wrote a piano reduction of the concerto, which immediately became popular to cellists internationally through her YouTube channel. Sointu graduated from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music in Spring 2026 and will begin a Master’s at University of Ottawa in Fall 2026. At McGill, she was a resident composer of the Contemporary Music Ensemble, and her teachers were Nicole Lizee, Jean Lesage, and Matt Haimovitz.