In 2004, while still a student, he was appointed conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the Russian National Library in St Petersburg.He also participated in master classes with notable conductors like Yuri Simonov, Kurt Masur and Jorma Panula.[3] From 2007 to 2010 Mäkilä served as assistant conductor to Kurt Masur at Orchestre National de France.Mäkilä has also actively championed modern Finnish music, notably Kalevi Aho and Jukka Tiensuu.In April 2012 Sasha Mäkilä was appointed Music Director of St. Michel Strings chamber orchestra in Mikkeli, Finland.