I was born into a musical family in Helsinki, Finland, and began my accordion studies at the age of seven with Lasse Pihlajamaa, a well known pioneer in the accordion field in Finland.

Playing the 'Finnish C System' button accordion, I was both Finnish National Accordion Champion and Scandinavian Accordion Champion, earning the right to represent my country when the Coupe Mondiale, World Accordion Championships were held in Helsinki, Finland.

During my career, I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity of performing in many countries around the world, as well as in my native homeland of Finland and adopted homeland of the United States.

My formal education took me to the United States, where I was the first foreign student to study accordion performance with Joan C. Sommers at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. After completing my studies I returned to Finland with my new wife Julie, where I resumed teaching and performing on the accordion.

Currently, my wife Julie and I, along with our two children Jessica and Janne, live back in the Kansas City area, where I make my living with the accordion. As an entertainer, I enjoy a busy schedule performing regularly throughout the Greater Kansas City area and in addition, run an accordion repair and tuning business from my home.