Michael Sagulin is a professional Finnish violist, educated music pedagogue, musicologist, actor and model currently living and working in Helsinki, Finland. A good friend of bad music and a fan of simplicity. On this website you can get to know with Michael. If you want music to make your day or private lessons, please use the contact form. If you need Michael as a commercial model, please contact Popular model agency.
Michael is a classically trained violist educated to master the traditional viola, chamber music and orchestra repertoire. Besides classical music, Michael is performing free improvisation and pop/jazz and early music. He has also worked with in different string sections and recorded film music and rock/pop in studio sessions. Michael is an experienced performer and available for solo and ensemble concerts.
Michael started his violin studies in Lahti Music Institute at the age of nine. Since 2004 he studied at Lahti Conservatory for Anu Airas and Anatoly Melnikov before he started his professional studies on high level at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki. While studying classical music education in Helsinki Metropolia UAS, he studied the viola with Pirkko Simojoki and string pedagogics with Seppo Reinikainen and Silja Raitio-Heikinheimo, worked actively as a chamber musician in string ensembles and as an orchestra musician. Michael has studied also baroque viola for prof. Pauline Nobes and Rachel Isserlis at University of Music Würzburg, Bavaria. Michael has also attended master classes for such viola players as Pirkko Simojoki, Corinne Contardo, Antonello Farulli, Torsten Tiebout and Paul Biss and has taken private lessons on pop/jazz viola with Heidi Mantere. Michael has also participated in the project Improvising as Mean of Improving Music Pedagogy in January 2013 where he studied free improvisation under the supervision of Anto Pett and the others.
During his studies at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Michael teached practice students under the supervision of Seppo Reinikainen and Silja Raitio-Heikinheimo and completed his teacher training at Haaga–Helia University of Applied Sciences. Michael has studied education science at the universities in Jyväskylä and Helsinki and violin group teaching at Sibelius Academy.
Besides making and teaching music, Michael has had roles in Finnish plays and films, and worked as a producer for culture events (for instance Gays on Stage for Helsinki Pride 2012).
Michael currently performs on a 1800 anon. ”Tirolian”, ex Eino Uusikallio viola generously loaned by Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Photos © Sami Montell, Iida Liimatainen