International virtuosos Kalle Toivio (organ) & Seeli Toivio (cello) perform music by Bach, Merikanto and more - featuring also  breathtaking improvisation.

 Based in New York, Kalle Toivio brings dynamic flair to the organ, complementing Seeli Toivio’s lyrical cello performances.  The siblings, who have performed together since the 1980s, bring both deep musical connection and impressive virtuosity to the stage. The concert also includes duo repertoire from the siblings, who have performed together for decades as Duo Toivio.

Stay after the concert for coffee and a chance to meet the artists.

FREE ENTRY – voluntary donation to support church music 

More about the artists: 

KALLE TOIVIO  is a Finnish-American concert organist and pianist based in New York. He won first prize in the American Guild of Organists National Competition in Organ Improvisation in the United States. His organ recording Improvisations at St. Ignatius has been released by the Pro Organo / Naxos label.

Kalle Toivio has performed in Europe, Japan, Canada, and the United States. He has appeared on radio and television in both Europe and the U.S., and has been featured several times on Pipedreams, a radio program dedicated to organ music in New York. He has also given masterclasses in Finland and the United States.

He has performed at the Lahti International Organ Festival, the Mänttä Music Festival, as well as in the cathedrals of Turku and Helsinki, and on numerous concert tours.
In 2023, Kalle Toivio was appointed Director of Music at the parishes of Corpus Christi and Notre Dame. Previously, he served as cantor of the Finnish congregation in New York, as organist at Christ Church Bay Ridge, and as Director of Music at the Church of Notre Dame. He teaches organ at the Precollege Division of the Manhattan School of Music.
Kalle Toivio studied at the Liszt Academy in Hungary and at the Sibelius Academy, where he completed Master’s degrees in piano and church music. He went on to earn both a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance at the Manhattan School of Music. He studied piano with, among others, Matti Raekallio and Nina Svetlanova, organ with Ville Urponen, McNeil Robinson, and James David Christie, and organ improvisation with Pekka Suikkanen, McNeil Robinson, and David Briggs.

SEELI TOIVIO is a Doctor of Music (Sibelius Academy), mezzo-soprano, and cellist who has performed extensively in Central Europe, Japan, and the United States, including at venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Among her numerous recordings are a complete recording of all six cello suites by J.S. Bach, as well as Virtuoso Cello, in which she performs virtuoso violin repertoire on the cello. She has also released two vocal recordings, Kesäyö and Joulun taikaa (2019). Her most recent album, Öinen näky (2024), features several Finnish 20th-century cello concertos in world premiere recordings, with Toivio as the soloist.
Toivio studied at the Sibelius Academy, the Royal Academy of Music in London, and the Liszt Academy in Budapest, majoring in cello. She has studied voice since 2017 under Margareta Haverinen-Brandt.
She performs regularly both in Finland and internationally. In 2021, she reached the final of the Toivo Kuula Singing Competition and received a special prize for the best interpretation of a contemporary song.
Her future engagements include active concert performances as both a cellist and a singer. She made her operatic debut in the role of Erda in Richard Wagner’s Siegfried in summer 2022.
Seeli Toivio is represented by Concert Office and Collarte.

For her concert calendar, recordings, and more information, please visit www.seelitoivio.com.

ideos of her performances and excerpts from recordings can be found on her YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/seelitoivio.com.