Born into an Irish family, cellist Finn Mannion (b.2002) grew up in highland Perthshire countryside, Scotland. Finn discovered music at a young age through regular exposure to the Folk tradition of his homelands. Possessing a rapidly-developing ear and intuition, he started his classical training at Scotland’s National Music School in Edinburgh. From thereon, music has remained at the centre of his life. 

In 2019, Finn became the youngest ever winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious ‘Julius Isserlis’ scholarship. A laureate of the Beatrice Huntington Award and the Pablo Casals International Award, Finn is an undergraduate at the Musik-Akademie in Basel studying with German-Japanese cellist Danjulo Ishizaka.

As a cosmopolitan music scholar, travel for concerts and chamber music is a regular occurrence. Finn has performed at the Perth Festival of the Arts as a Cross Trust Artist of the Year, the Swiss Chamber Music Festival, Maiastra Festival, Hellensmusic Festival, Schaffhausen-Klassik, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and has been Associate Artist of the Aboyne Cello Festival since 2023. Collaborating with pianist Ke Ma, Finn looks forward to duo recitals at the West Wight Arts Association, Kendal Concert Club and a Scottish Tour in 2025.

In 2023, Finn founded a piano trio - Trio Archai - with violinist Ayla Sahin and pianist Mar Valor. Just six months after formation they won First Prize in the 72nd Royal Over-Seas League Competition in London, earning them a Wigmore Hall debut in June 2024. The trio are Young Artists of MakingMusic’s ‘Philip and Dorothy Green’(PDGYA) scheme. Prizewinners of the Orpheus Swiss Chamber Competition in Lucerne, they received a specially-commissioned work from Dominic Röthlisberger to be premiered at the 2024 Swiss Chamber Music Festival. The trio study with Claudio Martinez Mehner and Zoltan Fejérvári at the Musik-Akademie Basel and have enjoyed further coaching from Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Alexander Lonquich and Robert Levin.

Active as a chamber musician outside of his trio, Finn has enjoyed performances alongside Arisa Fujita, Finghin Collins, Roman Simovic, Maya Iwabuchi and Matthew Hunt, as well as various concerts with his formative mentors; Céline Flamen and Gordan Nikolic. In Basel he enjoys regular coaching from Rainer Schmidt and Anton Kernjak, and has received numerous solo and chamber masterclasses from visiting artist Steven Isserlis.

Finn received a formative and rounded education at St Mary’s Music School (Edinburgh) with Ruth Beauchamp and subsequently with David Watkin and Alison Wells (Glasgow). He is also a long-time student of the Scandinavian Cello School (Denmark). Finn frequently draws from masterclass encounters with Alice Neary, Philip Higham, Clive Greensmith, Rebecca Gilliver, Frans Helmerson, Wolfgang E. Schmidt, and Nicolas Altstaedt. 

Finn plays a fine Italian cello by Giulio Cesare Gigli, generously loaned by a private individual. 
Aside from music Finn is an avid hillwalker, lover of dogs(!) and passionate street/portrait photographer. 

(Valid: APRIL 2023 - Do not alter without permission. Short-Bio available on request.)