User:Silence of Järvenpää/Work (*)

On 15 September 1885, Sibelius matriculated at the Helsinki Music Institute (today the Sibelius Academy), which the Finnish composer and educator Martin Wegelius had founded in 1882 as Finland's first conservatory. At the behest of his maternal uncle, Axel Borg, Sibelius also begrudgingly read law at the Imperial Alexander University in Finland (today the University of Helsinki)—however, after one fruitless semester, his family permitted him to pursue music exclusively. Sibelius studied with the Institute's most celebrated violinist, Mitrofan Vasiliev, and entertained dreams of becoming a virtuoso; his first public appearance occurred at one of the Institute's concerts on 14 December. In the spring of 1886, Sibelius became the concertmaster of the University's student orchestra, which the professor of music Richard Faltin conducted; moreover, he received positive reviews following performances in an additional two concerts at the Institute.