Having begun his career as a violinist, John Storgårds is one of the most remarkable Finnish conductors of his generation. He is widely recognised for his creative flair for programming and his commitment to contemporary music. Former chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (2008–15), Storgårds is artistic director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra (since 1996) and chief guest conductor of the BBC Philharmonic (since 2012) and the National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa (since 2015). He has also made guest appearances with, for example, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker and the orchestras of Boston, St Louis, Toronto and Cleveland. Storgårds has made numerous acclaimed recordings featuring not only standard repertoire but also rarities and contemporary music. He also appears frequently as a chamber musician and violinist at festivals, and as a violin soloist with orchestras such as the WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne. John Storgårds studied orchestral conducting, composition and violin playing in Finland – where his teachers included Esther Rautio and Jouko Ignatius – and in Israel under the legendary violinist Chaim Taub. He gained his conducting diploma from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki in 1997. He received the Finnish State Prize for Music in 2002 and the Pro Finlandia Prize in 2012. For more information on John Storgårds, please visit his
website.
