After graduating as a professional musician from Lahti Conservatory in May 2018, Mr. Luukas Hiltunen (b. 1996) completed his studies in additional training provided by the institution before starting his specialization in music pedagogy with a focus on composition at Tampere University of Applied Sciences in September 2019, graduating with excellent grades in June 2023. From September 2023 onwards, Hiltunen has been working as a freelance composer and arranger.

Hiltunen's works have been published by Edition Wilhelm Hansen in Copenhagen and Fennica Gehrman Oy in Helsinki. He has collaborated with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, Vivo Symphony Orchestra, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Lappeenranta Symphony Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Saimaa Sinfonietta and the Ruovesi Chamber Music Festival.

In May 2021, the Pro Musica Foundation awarded Hiltunen a composition scholarship to support his promising artistic career. In August 2023, Hiltunen was selected as Young Composer of the Mikkeli Music Festival 2024, together with conductor Aliisa Naige Barrière, who was selected as Young Artist. At the end of the month, he also received a 3000 euro grant from Otto A. Malm Endowment Fund to complete his two-movement reconstruction of the unfinished Symphony No. 6 in C major by Felix Mendelssohn – the project was completed in November 2023.

In addition to his composing activities, Hiltunen is also active in the cultural field: in addition to his membership of the Federation of Musicians and TEOSTO, he has been a member of the Finnish Sheet Music Society since August 2017, the Hämeenlinna Sibelius Society since October 2022 and the Erkki Melartin Society since January 2023. He also occasionally performs as a violist with his instrument Jay Haide from 2012.