Around the Music Festival

Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo extended the contract with BBC Symphony Orchestra, who served as chief conductor since 2013. The term of office extends to 2022. The BBC Symphony Orchestra is London’s base and the top of several broadcast orchestras owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) within the UK. Oramo was born in Helsinki in 1965. Learning the violin at the Sibelius Conservatory, joining Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, became a concert master.

Afterwards, he returned to his alma mater and studied as a conductor, and in 1993 he returned to the orchestra as a conductor and became a deputy permanent conductor. In 1999 he became music director of City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (- 2008). After that, he served as Principal Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2003 to 2012. Currently, in addition to the BBC Symphony Orchestra, he is the principal conductor of West Coast Kokkola Opera in Finland (2006 -), and music director of Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (2008 -) in Sweden.

Photo：BBC　/　Chris Christodoulou