Sebastian Hilli (b. 1990, Helsinki) holds a Master’s degree in composition from the Sibelius Academy and a Master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. He has gained international recognition by winning numerous prestigious composition competitions, such as the Toru Takemitsu Composition Competition (2015), the International Rostrum of Composers Under 30 (2017), the Gaudeamus Award (2018), the Teosto Award (2019) and, most recently, the SACEM Award for Best Original Music in a Short Film at the Annecy Animation Festival 2025. Hilli’s works are published by the renowned German publishing house Schott Music.
In addition to awards, Hilli’s works have received widespread recognition from critics: HBL, among others, has described Hilli’s music as follows: “This music sounds like nothing else I’ve heard before – how often do you get to say that about a piece by a composer in his thirties? Hilli’s expression is completely original, significant, fresh and, above all, honest. This is music of our time at its finest, where anything goes for those who are ready to take on the challenge.” (29 May 2021). In 2025, Hilli’s first concerto, 1977 – a Violin Concerto (2023), was described as ‘an event that rises above the ordinary’, ‘nothing less than a milestone in the history of Finnish violin concertos’ (Hufvudstadsbladet) and ‘one of the most thought-provoking new concertos in a long time’ (AIM).
In his works, Hilli takes a fresh approach to various themes and styles, drawing on human psychology, emotions and experiences, natural phenomena, physics, poetry and other art forms and musical styles. His works contain references ranging from baroque to pop music, from romanticism to free jazz and from disco to the Renaissance. Hilli’s music is characterised by a combination of surprises and intuition with carefully constructed details and structure, a desire to capture emotional states and a curiosity to seek out the new.
Hilli’s works have been performed and commissioned by, among others, the Finnish Radio’s Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish National Opera, the Finnish Chamber Orchestra, the Central Ostrobothnia Chamber Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Asko Schönberg, Quatuor Bozzini, Slagwerk Den Haag, ensemble recherche, Norrbotten NEO, Uusinta Ensemble, Kamus Quartet, Anu Komsi, Petri Kumela, Pekka Kuusisto, and conducted by Hannu Lintu, Ryan Bancroft, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Anna-Maria Helsing, Leif Segerstam, Nicholas Collon, Olari Elts, André de Ridder and Bas Wiegers, among others.
