Born into an Irish family and raised in Scotland, cellist Finn Mannion began playing at a young age through regular exposure to the folk tradition of his homelands. He now enjoys a colourful career as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, performing all over Europe in major venues such as Wigmore Hall, TivoliVredenburg, Palau de la Música, Stadtcasino Basel, and Perth Concert Hall.
Finn is a 2026 BBC Radio Scotland Young Classical Musician of the Year finalist and will make his solo debut with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Jonathan Bloxham in May. He is a Britten-Pears Young Artist 2025/26, a Countess of Munster Trust Scholar, and Associate Artist of the Aboyne Cello Festival. 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 recent years, Finn has also been a Cross Trust Artist, a Tunnell Trust Award winner, and a recipient of the Beatrice Huntington 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 Fringe, Mendelssohn on Mull, Whittington Festival, and Schaffhausen-Klassik.
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 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, Finn continues to immerse himself in 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 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. Aside from music, Finn is an avid hillwalker, lover of dogs, and passionate street photographer.
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Short Bio available on request.
© Finn Mannion 2026
