Jukka-Pekka Saraste

Jukka-Pekka Saraste (born April 22, 1956) is a Finnish orchestral conductor. He is currently the Music Director of the Oslo Philharmonic.

Born in Lahti, Finland, Jukka-Pekka Saraste was trained as a violinist, and later studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula, in the same class as Esa-Pekka Salonen and Osmo Vänskä.

Before becoming a conductor, Saraste was co-principal second violinist and later an associate to Leif Segerstam, with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (YLE). In 1987, he became the chief conductor of YLE, a position he held from 1987-2001. In 1987, he also became the principal conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and remained with the orchestra until 1991. Although Saraste is no longer affiliated with SCO, he is the YLE's Conductor Laureate. Regarded as a champion of Finnish music, he has recorded the complete symphonies of Jean Sibelius with YLE.

International career

Moving to Canada, Saraste took on a second orchestra by becoming the Music Director of the Toronto Symphony, and remained with the orchestra from 1994 through 2001. The later years of his tenure were marked by strife over the orchestra's financial difficulties, several musicians' strikes, and his unsuccessful efforts to improve the acoustics at Roy Thomson Hall. As a result, Saraste chose not to renew his contract when it expired, though he has returned there for several guest appearances.

In addition to the management of these positions, Jukka-Pekka Saraste is a co-founding member of the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra. Founded in 1983 with conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, Avanti! was born out of the need for a progressive and flexible ensemble that would not shy away from contemporary music. With Avanti! came the Avanti! Music Festival, which takes place every year in Porvoo, Finland. In 2000, Saraste also founded the Ekenäs Summer Concerts-Festival with the Finnish Chamber Orchestra, and he is currently the artistic adviser of both Festival and Orchestra. The Finnish Chamber Orchestra is collection of Finland's top musicians, invited to join from orchestras across the country. As well as performing annually in Southern Finland, Saraste has directed the Finnish Chamber orchestra through several tours, including tours in the United States and China.

After leaving both TSO and RSO in 2001, Saraste became the principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which he served from 2002 through 2005. In August 2006 he succeeded André Previn as Music Director of the Oslo Philharmonic.

In December 2006, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra announced that Saraste would become the artistic advisor to the orchestra from 2008 through 2011, and Artistic Director of the Lahti Sibelius Festival in 2008.

Awards

Jukka-Pekka Saraste was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Music in 2000. He has received a Doctor "honoris causa" from the University of York, and he is a Sibelius Medalist. Recent honours also include the Sibelius Prize, awarded in Norway.

External links

* [http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=26175 Article from Virtual Finland]
* [http://www.yle.fi/rso/?lang=eng Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra]