The Turku Musical Society, which later formed the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, was founded in 1790. As the oldest orchestra in Finland – and one of the oldest in the world – the ensemble continues to develop and flourish under the baton of renowned conductors. During its history it has premiered pieces by Jean Sibelius under the baton of the composer himself and worked with legendary conductors including Paavo Berglund and Principal Conductors such as Tauno Hannikainen, Jorma Panula, Jacques Mercier and Hannu Lintu. Since 2012 the orchestra’s seventy-four musicians have enjoyed the artistic leadership of world renowned Principal Conductor Leif Segerstam. The orchestra’s resident composer is Mikko Heiniö.
The orchestra has toured to Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Belgium, Russia, Germany, Hungary and China. Several of its recordings have received platinum discs and the orchestra has been awarded for its recording work. In 2009 the orchestra was awarded the EMMA Classical Album of the Year for the recording Transient Moods featuring music by Pehr Henrik Nordgren.
In addition to weekly symphony concerts, often streamed live throughout the world, the orchestra’s chamber music ensembles perform in the many historical venues of Turku and the beautiful surrounding archipelago. The orchestra also organises concerts for the whole family and performs in opera productions. The Turku Philharmonic actively promotes audience accessibility, enabling audiences’ access to concerts online in hospitals, homes for the elderly and schools.
