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Jaakko Ilkka Kuusisto (17 January 1974 – 23 February 2022) was a Finnish violinist, composer, and conductor.
Kuusisto studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, majoring in violin, as well as at Indiana University under Miriam Fried.
After an early career as violinist, Kuusisto increasingly turned his attention to composing and conducting. He composed approximately 40 works in total, including several operas, film scores and stage music, 15 pieces of chamber music, and numerous other compositions, as well as various and . Some of his operas were commissioned by the Finnish National Opera and Savonlinna Opera Festival.
Kuusisto worked as the artistic director of the Oulu Music Festival, and chief conductor of the . Before these, he served as the concertmaster of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra for many years, where he was personally invited by the orchestra's chief conductor Osmo Vänskä.
Outside music, Kuusisto was also active in the wider society and politics, and in 2021 became elected member of Oulu city council, representing the Green League.
Kuusisto died from brain cancer on 23 February 2022, at the age of 48. He had been diagnosed and operated on in 2020, and announced on social media to encourage others to seek medical advice "even for mild symptoms", which in his case included headaches and problems with speech.
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