Joel Järventausta

Spending his childhood in Luxembourg and Germany, Finnish composer Joel Järventausta (b. 1995) completed his studies in the United Kingdom, and was awarded a PhD in Composition from King’s College London, where he studied with Sir George Benjamin and Prof. Silvina Milstein, supported by the Arts & Humanities Scholarship. Based back in Finland, Joel is currently working as a freelance composer. His work has been commissioned and performed by orchestras and ensembles such as London Symphony Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre national d’Île de France, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Chamber Choir and Uusinta Ensemble.

The 2025/26 season sees the world premiere of Fantasy for piano & orchestra by Joonas Ahonen and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ilan Volkov; three performances of chamber opera Ihminen parhaan kykynsä mukaan (A Human to the best of my Ability) at the Finnish National Opera, and the Dutch premiere of Bacchanale by the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Eva Ollikainen at the Concertgebouw. In addition the London Symphony Orchestra is releasing Suns extinguished on their Panufnik Legacies IV album, Jyväskylä Sinfonia is releasing Ripped Tapestry and Naava on Alba Records and Niklas Walentin and Ensemble Storstrøm are releasing Songs, Games & Dances on Naxos.

Recent successes include the world premiere of Sunfall by London Symphony Orchestra conducted by François-Xavier Roth in 2022 in Barbican London and on tour at Konzerthaus Dortmund, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Musikkens Hus Aalborg. Sunfall was given its Finland premiere by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir George Benjamin in 2023 and a second performance in Denmark by the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Eva Ollikainen in 2024.

In 2024 Joel’s first chamber opera Ihminen parhaan kykynsä mukaan (A Human to the best of my Ability) to a libretto by celebrated Finnish author Tommi Kinnunen, was given its world premiere and several sold-out performances by baritone Waltteri Torikka and actress Pihla Penttinen. The opera was a co-production of Saaristo-ooppera, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and Turku City Theater.

In July 2024, Joel was Composer-in-Residence at ‘I Djurs og Mols’ festival in Denmark, resulting in a pocket concerto, Songs, Games & Dances, for violinist Niklas Walentin and Ensemble Storstrøm.

In 2019, Joel received 1st Prize in the 7th Edition of Île de Créations Composition Competition, with his piece Ripped Tapestry, which was subsequently performed several times by Orchestre national d’Île de France, conducted by Antony Hermus, including at Philharmonie de Paris.

In addition to his doctorate, Joel holds a Masters in Composition with 1st class Distinction from the  Royal College of Music, where he was a fully supported Scholar. He also holds a BA in Music with 1st class honours from the University of York and has completed an Erasmus exchange at the Sibelius Academy in Finland. In the past he has studied with Dr. Dai Fujikura and Prof. Veli-Matti Puumala, also receiving tuition from Unsuk Chin, Colin Matthews, Michael Gandolfi and Oliver Knussen.