Maria Morfin Venäläinen was born in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in 2003. After moving to Finland, she began studying the cello at the age seven at Kotka Music School under the tutelage of Baiba Kuusela. In 2016, she was accepted to the Sibelius Junior Academy to play cello, where she studied first under Hannu Kiiski and later under Marko Ylönen. Last autumn, she began bachelor’s studies in music at the Sibelius Academy under Marko Ylönen.
In 2019, Maria received first shared prize in the Salo Cello Competition, and in 2021 she received first prize in the Porvoo Cello Competition. She has performed as a soloist with Kymi Sinfonietta, Sibelius-Academy's Chamber Orchestra, Helsinki YMCA’s Symphony Orchestra and Sipoo Chamber Orchestra. In summer 2022, she was Young Artist of the Year at the Kaakko Chamber Music Festival, Nagu Chamber Music Festival, Hauho Music Festival, KesäVirratSoi Festival and Lemi Music Festival. Her numerous solo recitals include performances at the Kauniainen Music Festival and Porvoo-Borgå Festival.
Maria has taken masterclasses with Arto Noras, Ola Karlsson, Niels Ullner, Andreas Brantelid, Maria Kliegel, Niklas Schmidt, Frans Helmersson, Josephine Knight and Young Song, among others. She was a student at the Cello Academy in 2020–2022.
