Born in Helsinki as the son of opera singer Pekka Salomaa [fi], Salomaa began his musical studies as a cellist. In 1976, at the age of 15, he entered the Sibelius Academy where he began to pursue studies as a vocalist for the first time.[2] His vocal teachers have included Kim Borg, Hans Hotter, Yevgeny Nesterenko and Erik Saedén. In 1981, at the age of 20, he won the National Singing Competition in Lappeenranta. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Sibelius Academy in 1989 and a doctor of music degree in 2003.[3]
Salomaa made his professional singing debut in Helsinki at the age of 17 singing the part of Raphael in Joseph Haydn's The Creation. He has since had a highly active career as a concert soloist with major orchestras and ensembles in Europe, especially in Scandinavia. In 1984 he was the bass soloist in a nationally broadcast performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's St John Passion in Switzerland. He soon after appeared at Royal Albert Hall in London as the Levite in Handel's Solomon. He has also performed Gustav Mahler's Kindertotenlieder with the Orchestre de Paris.[3]
^Martti Haapakoski; Anni Heino; Matti Huttunen; Hannu-Ilari Lampila; Katri Maasalo, eds. (2002). Suomen musiikin historia: Esittävä säveltaide. Helsinki: WSOY. pp. 223–225. ISBN951-0-23564-4.