About Ida

Ida Alanen (b. 1994) is a pianist and composer from Helsinki, Finland. She has recently finished her Master's degree at the Conservatory of Amsterdam under the instruction of Harmen Fraanje and Karel Boehlee. Ida is currently based in Amsterdam, working on several artistic projects both in Finland and Central Europe.​

For the past three years Ida has been leading her own group, Ida Alanen Trio with bassist Jonathan Bäckström and drummer Benjamin Nylund. In October 2023 the trio released their debut album Awake Asleep with a Norwegian label AMP Music & Records, also in Dolby Atmos surround sound format as one of the first Finnish jazz albums. This strong debut was met with a positive response and immediate interest in both the Finnish and European jazz scenes. In July 2024 the trio was one of the four finalists in the Euroradio Jazz Competition, performing at the prestigious Marciac Jazz Festival.​

Ida finds inspiration to her work from visual arts, nature and observations on life. Her music alternates effortlessly between carefully orchestrated compositions and the freedom of improvisation. As a pianist Ida has an exceptional sensitivity to melody and simplistic beauty, and strong melodies often have a centric role in her work. The influence of a wide variety of music styles is evident in her style, including minimalism, modern classical composers, and folk music, to name a few. Ida’s versatile background is present in her unique way of composing and improvising.​

Her interest in the relation between visuality and music has led her to collaborations with visual artists. In 2023, she contributed in SOUNDWAVES, a collaborative project with a Dutch artist Lenneke Overmaat, composing 12 solo piano pieces for a selection of her black-and-white graphic drawings.

​​​Ida has a Masters degree from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She has previously studied in Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and Pop&Jazz Conservatory in Helsinki. Ida has also studied piano and composition privately with internationally recognized musicians such as Gerald Clayton, Abe Rábade, Omer Klein and Sid Hille. Her composing work has been supported with various grants from The Finnish Cultural Foundation, The Finnish Music Creators' Fund and Arts Promotion Centre Finland to name a few.