Joni Stein (b. 1995, Haapajärvi) is a Helsinki-based pianist, accordionist, and composer. His artistic work is characterized by an exploration of the intersections between folk music and jazz through improvisation and composition. He is also fascinated by Japanese popular culture, which is often a source of inspiration for his projects.
After graduating with a Master of Music degree from the Folk Music programme at the Sibelius Academy, Stein has worked on a variety of projects supported by, among others, the Kone Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, and the Music Promotion Foundation. In 2023–2024, he worked full-time as a composer and scriptwriter on musical works set in the Animagios fantasy world, supported by the Kone Foundation. The first of these, Ystäväni Tsizik, premiered in 2024 in the Concert Hall of the Helsinki Music Centre, performed with the Vantaa Pops Orchestra, the Grex Musicus choir, narrator Nina Tapio, and vocal soloists Maija Pokela, Maija Pihlajaoja, and Onni Rajaniemi.
Stein has been performing actively for more than ten years, both as a soloist and with ensembles including Salonen & Stein, Animagios Ensemble, Reelinki, and Tradikaali. He has won several national accordion competitions, as well as the international Primus Ikaalinen Accordion Competition. He has created projects combining linguistics and music, such as Fugaiu Novo, in which the lyrics of the songs were based on a phonological system he developed himself. Another important part of his artistic practice has been an in-depth exploration of collaborative composition and its methods and possibilities together with Santte Salonen. Their collaborative compositions and arrangements are performed by duo Salonen & Stein.