Chief Conductor of BBC Symphony Orchestra, Conductor Laureate of Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Honorary Conductor of Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Partner with Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, a guest conductor at the highest international level and a prolific recording artist, Sakari Oramo’s performances combine crystalline structural cohesion with authority, elegance and passion.
Sakari Oramo celebrates the extension of his contract as Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, leading them up to their centenary year in 2030, with a captivating season including the UK premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s "HUSH", a focus on works by Grażyna Bacewicz, Britta Byström, and Dora Pejačević, and Busoni’s Piano Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, and Orchestre national de France. The 2024/25 season sees Oramo, newly announced as Artistic Partner with Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, embark on their tour to Japan. He returns to NDR Elbphilharmonie, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra amidst his ongoing collaborations with BBC Symphony Orchestra. Notable engagements from previous seasons include those with Wiener Symphoniker, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.
Throughout his career, Oramo has held numerous prestigious positions; Music Director of City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1998 to 2008, Chief Conductor of Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2003 to 2012, Principal Conductor of West Coast Kokkola Opera from 2004 to 2018, and Chief Conductor of Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra from 2008 to 2021. An accomplished violinist, Oramo was originally concertmaster of Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Oramo continues to champion new and rarely performed works with BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducting works by Carlos Simon, Kaija Saariaho Dora Pejačević, Grażyna Bacewicz, Doreen Carwithen and Grace Mary Williams. Oramo is a regular conductor at the BBC Proms – during the summer of 2024, he presented several Proms with BBC Symphony Orchestra including The Last Night of the Proms and a collaboration with the Sibelius Academy Helsinki and Royal College of Music London alongside performances of Holst’s "Cloud Messenger", Kaija Saariho’s "Mirage" and "An Alpine Symphony" by Richard Strauss.
Recent additions to Oramo’s extensive discography include recordings of Dora Pejačević’s Piano Concerto and Symphony in F‑sharp minor with BBC Symphony Orchestra, works by Ravel with Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and Rued Langgaard’s Symphony No.1 with Berliner Philharmoniker. He has also recorded Sibelius’s complete symphonies with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Nielsen’s and Schumann’s complete symphonies with Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and many works by Kaija Saariaho and Magnus Lindberg with various orchestras. Successes across his catalogue include BBC Music Magazine’s Orchestra Award for Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 with Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, a Gramophone Award in 2019 for Laangaard: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 6 with Wiener Philharmoniker and soprano Anu Komsi, and a 2020 International Classical Music Award for Busoni: Piano Concerto with Boston Symphony Orchestra and Kirill Gerstein.