John Storgårds
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, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra 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.

The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (RSPO)
was founded in 1902 and has made its home in the Stockholm Concert Hall since 1926. The orchestra endeavours to reinvigorate and expand the traditional symphonic repertoire, organising an annual, internationally renowned composer festival and regularly premièring new works. It has also been noted for its pioneering efforts towards a more gender-balanced repertoire. The RSPO participates annually at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony. Sakari Oramo has been chief conductor and artistic director of the RSPO since 2008. His predecessor Alan Gilbert

led the orchestra from 2000 until 2008 and is its conductor laureate. Furthermore, Franz Welser-Möst has been awarded the title Eric Ericson Honorary Chair by the orchestra, a position that involves making annual guest appearances with the orchestra. Through successful tours and award-winning recordings the orchestra has confirmed its international standing, to the point of being called ‘one of the finest orchestras in the world’ (Die Welt).