Timo Riihonen graduated with a masters degree in music from Sibelius-Academy and continued to study in the International Opera Studio in Zürich. He was a member of the opera house ensembles in Kiel and Deutsche oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf between the years 2009-2018. Since 2018 he works as a freelance artist all over the world. As a guest soloist, he has performed in many of the top opera houses and concert halls in the world. Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House, Bayreuther Festspiele, Staatsoper Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Filharmonie Moscow, Berlin Filharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, State opera in Prag and Opera Australia in Melbourne to name a few. He often performs in his native country Finland, being a regular guest at the Finnish National Opera and Savonlinna Opera Festival. He also teaches at the Sibelius-Academy, hoping to pass on his knowledge to future generations. 

In recent years, he has roles including Baron Ochs, Veit Pogner, Daland, Ramfis, Claggart, Hunding, Filippo II, Il Grande Inquisitore, Sarastro, Padre Guardiano, Fasolt and Fafner, Il Commendatore, Colline, Gremin, Landgraf Hermann. Future engagements include among others performances at the Finnish National Opera, Staatstheater Wiesbaden, National Oper du Rhin and Savonlinna Opera Festival with roles like König Heinrich, Sarastro, Filippo II and Fasolt. He will also perform a bass soloist in Messa da Requiem from Verdi and sing Lied concerts as well.

Timo Riihonen has worked with world renowned conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Christian Thielemann, Hartmut Hänchen, Semyon Bychkov, Kiril Petrenko, Philippe Auguin, Philippe Jordan, Andris Nelsons, Marek Janowski, Oksana Lyniv, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Leif Segerstam, Hannu Lintu, Alexander Joel, Michael Boder, Carlo Rizzi, Nello Santi and with stage directors such as Barrie Kosky, Andreas Homoki, Simon Stone, Keith Warner, Uwe Erik Laufenberg, Grischa Asagaroff, Tatjana Gürbaca, Guy Cassiers, Guy Joosten, Robert Carsen, Christoph Loy and Jean-Yves Ruf.