Dr. Kalle Toivio is an Finnish-American virtuoso concert organist and pianist living in New York City. He is the winner of the First Prize at the prestigious 2018 American Guild of Organists National Organ Improvisation Competition held in conjuction with the 2018 AGO National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

In the Fall of 2018 Kalle Toivio will continue his organ studies with James David Christie in the Artist Diploma program at the Oberlin Conservatory.

Dr. Toivio has played organ recitals and performed at the Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola, Riverside Church, St. Mary the Virgin and at the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage in Washington D.C. In honor of the Jean Sibelius 150th Anniversary Celebration, Kalle Toivio gave a recital featuring organ music and song cycles of Jean Sibelius together with soprano Sharon Harms at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. This recital was featured in the ‘Great Music in Great Space’s Great Organ Recital Series.’ In April of 2016 Kalle Toivio gave a recital at the Central Lutheran Church of Minneapolis, where he improvised an entire organ symphony in four movements, a feat Dr. Toivio repeated at the 2017 Mänttä Music Festival.

Kalle Toivio has toured in Europe, Japan and the United States. He has performed in Television and Radio in Finland, England, Belgium and Austria. In the United States Kalle Toivio has played recitals at the Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago and at the Carnegie Hall. Before moving to the United States, Kalle Toivio performed at numerous Mänttä Music Festivals since their founding in 1999.

Besides being a versatile career as a soloist and a chamber musician, Dr. Toivio is a producer of cultural events and concerts. As the Music Chairman of the Finlandia Foundation New York Chapter, Kalle Toivio arranged and produced the New York Debut Recitals of accordianist Veli Kujala and composer Sampo Haapamäki. Together with Mr. Leland Hoch, Kalle Toivio produced the first full performance of Rautavaara’s ‘Vigilia’ in the United States, conducted by Kent Tritle at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in November of 2016. Dr. Toivio is the founder and Sub-Dean of the Finland Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

Kalle Toivio is the Organist and Director of Music at the Church of Notre Dame in New York City. Before his tenure at the Church of Notre Dame, Dr. Toivio served for five years as the organist of Christ Church Bay Ridge (Episcopal) and served concurrently as the Cantor-Organist of the New York Finnish Lutheran Congregation. Kalle Toivio founded and was the leader of the Christ Church Schola Cantorum. Dr. Toivio is in the organ faculty of Manhattan School of Music Precollege as well as on the Piano Faculty of the Stamford Music Arts Academy.

Dr. Kalle Toivio has graduated from the Sibelius Academy with Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Church Music as well as Master of Music degree in Piano Performance. After moving to New York City Dr. Toivio continued his organ studies at the Manhattan School of Music from where he received his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Organ Performance and was honored with the Bronson Ragan Award twice, given to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding ability in Organ Performance. His doctoral dissertation is on transcriptions for the organ of concertos by Antonio Vivaldi.

For more than seven years Kalle Toivio studied the art of organ playing and improvisation with the legendary McNeil Robinson (1943–2015). For almost two decades Kalle Toivio has studied the art of piano playing with Nina Svetlanova.

Kalle Toivio is married to concert pianist and actress Viktoriya Papayani.