Cellist Finn Mannion grew up in Scotland in an Irish family, discovering music at a young age from the folk traditions around him. Trained in Perthshire, Edinburgh, Basel and Madrid, he now enjoys a colourful career as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. Named BBC Radio Scotland Young Classical Musician 2026, he performs all over Europe in major venues such as Wigmore Hall, TivoliVredenburg, Palau de la Música, Stadtcasino Basel, and Perth Concert Hall.

Finn made his solo debut with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Jonathan Bloxham, performing Dvorak Cello Concerto in B minor in Glasgow City Halls. He was named a 'Rising Star' through Edinburgh International Festival’s emerging talent program. A founding member of Trio Archai, he won First Prize and Beethoven Prize at the 2025 Schoenfeld International String Competition in China, and First Prize at the 2024 Royal Over-Seas League Competition in London. In 2026, his trio won the Filippo Nicosia Award in Italy and the Förderpreis der Basler Orchester-Gesellschaft.

In recent years, Finn has also been a Britten-Pears Young Artist 2025/26, a Cross Trust Artist, and a recipient of the Beatrice Huntington, Countess of Munster, and Vontobel Bank LYRA Awards. Finn collaborates with pianist Ke Ma, and is regularly invited to give recitals at festivals including Swiss Chamber Music Festival, Brighton Festival, Volta Kammermusikfest, Edinburgh International Festival, Mendelssohn on Mull, Whittington Festival, Hellensmusic, and Schaffhausen-Klassik. Finn’s performances have been highlighted on BBC Radio Scotland ‘Classical Now’, and on BBC Radio 3 ‘In Tune’.

With deep roots in Scotland, Finn returns often to perform, teach and climb the hills. In 2025/26 he was back with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland as soloist, playing Henriëtte Bosmans’ Poème in Glasgow and working closely with the young musicians. As Associate Artist of the Aboyne Cello Festival, he usually spends a week each summer in Aberdeenshire with fellow cellists.

Named a Royal Philharmonic Society Isserlis Scholar in 2019, Finn studied at the National Music School in Edinburgh before moving to Switzerland to join the class of German/Japanese cellist Danjulo Ishizaka at the Musik-Akademie Basel. He also studies part-time at the esteemed International Institute for Chamber Music at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, with his Trio Archai. Finn remains deeply grateful for the mentorship of Céline Flamen and for the dedication of his former teachers, Ruth Beauchamp, Alison Wells, and the late David Watkin. With a strong interest in Early Music, he studied Baroque cello with Petr Skalka at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. His musicianship has been influenced by working closely with Rainer Schmidt, Gordan Nikolic, Claudio Martinez Mehner, and Philip Higham. Further impulses stem from Alexander Lonquich, Nicolas Altstaedt, Steven Isserlis, and Thomas Adés at IMS Prussia Cove.

Finn has been generously supported by the Basler Orchester Gesellschaft, Caird Trust, Scandinavian Cello School, Cross Trust, and DOMS Stiftung. He plays a fine Italian cello by Giulio Cesare Gigli, c. 1788, kindly loaned by a private individual. Away from the cello, Finn is a passionate photographer. His work, Finn’sFuji, spans street, concert and portrait photography.

Not to be altered without permission.
Short Bio available on request.

© Finn Mannion 2026