Nooa Hilli (b. 2009) began playing the piano at the age of five and started regular piano lessons at the age of seven with Natalia Murzina. Since 2019, Nooa has studied piano at the Oulu Conservatory with Sara Larikka as his teacher. Beginning in autumn 2026, Nooa will continue his piano studies at the Helsinki Conservatory.
Nooa has participated in masterclasses given by, among others, Antti Hotti, Eero Heinonen, Matti Raekallio, and Ingrid Fliter. Nooa has also received private lessons from Teppo Koivisto and Jani Aarrevaara. In spring 2023, Nooa was selected as a scholarship recipient of the Youth Piano Academy, where he began his studies as a full-time student in February 2024. In 2026, Nooa was awarded a grant by the Pro Musica Foundation.
Nooa participated in the Leevi Madetoja Piano Competition in 2022 and 2025, where he received Musica ry's special prize as the competition’s best pianist from Northern Ostrobothnia. In 2026, Nooa was awarded a recognition award at the National Ilmari Hannikainen Piano Chamber Music Competition.
As a soloist, Nooa has performed twice with youth orchestras at the Madetoja Hall: in 2024 at the Oulu Festivo’s Young Soloists Concert and in 2025 in a joint concert featuring the Oulu Conservatory Chamber Orchestra (OKKO) and the Das Symphonische Jugendorchester der Musik- und Kunstschule Jena (JSO). Nooa has also performed at the Youth Chopin event in Helsinki in both 2024 and 2022. In addition, Nooa has gained extensive performance experience through student concerts organised by the Oulu Conservatory and the Valkoinen Flyygeli Music School, concerts of the Youth Piano Academy, church events, and a masterclass in St. Petersburg.