Kasperi Sarikoski

Kasperi Sarikoski (b. 1988) first performed with UMO in 2004 – when only 16 years of age. Since then he has regularly worked with the big band. In 2019 he was selected as the new lead trombonist for the  big band.

Sarikoski first began studying music at the Helsinki Pop & Jazz Conservatory in 1997. After being trained at the Junior Academy of the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, he continued his studies at the Academy’s Jazz Department, graduating with his Master’s Degree in 2013. The degree included an exchange year at the Jazz Department of the Conservatoire de Paris.

In 2017 Sarikoski moved to New York to pursue postgraduate studies at the celebrated Juilliard School in New York. This allowed him to gain some foothold in the vibrant local jazz scene by, for example, performing with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. After his studies Sarikoski returned to Helsinki to take up the position of lead trombonist with UMO.

In the domestic jazz field Sarikoski has collaborated with such names as Teppo Mäkynen, Jukka Perko and Henrik Otto Donner. He has also released two albums as a leader and composer.