 In the Fall 1987, Pohjola moved to Stockholm, Sweden to study jazz and classical music at the Södra Latin Music Gymnasium.It was in Stockholm where he met his mentor and long-time friend, jazz pianist Alvaro Is Rojas, who taught him piano improvisation, jazz harmony and ear-training for five years, spanning his high school years and academic studies at the Royal Swedish College of Music.Pohjola received a master's degree in Jazz Improvisation and Education at age 20 in the Spring of 1992.