Klaus Mäkelä (born 17 January 1996) is a Finnish conductor and cellist. He is currently chief conductor of the

Oslo Philharmonic The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 18 ...

, music director of the

Orchestre de Paris The Orchestre de Paris () is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra currently performs most of its concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris. History In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Co ...

, and artistic partner and chief conductor-designate of the

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklĳk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the " ...

Biography

Mäkelä was born in Helsinki into a family of musicians; his father is the cellist Sami Mäkelä, and his mother is the pianist Taru Myöhänen-Mäkelä. His grandfather, Tapio Myöhänen, is a violinist and violist. His younger sister Ellen Mäkelä is a dancer with the Ballet de Catalunya. Mäkelä studied conducting at the

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It als ...

with

Jorma Panula Jorma Juhani Panula (born 10 August 1930) is a Finnish conductor, composer, and teacher of conducting. He has mentored many Finnish conductors, such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mikko Franck, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Osmo Vänskä and Klaus ...

and cello with Marko Ylönen, Timo Hanhinen and Hannu Kiiski. He became interested in conducting at age 12, when he sang in the choir of the

Finnish National Opera The Finnish National Opera and Ballet ( fi, Suomen Kansallisooppera ja -baletti; sv, Finlands Nationalopera och -balett) is a Finnish opera company and ballet company based in Helsinki. It is headquartered in the Opera House on the coast of the T ...

. He has been a soloist with Finnish orchestras such as the

Lahti Symphony Orchestra The Lahti Symphony Orchestra (''Sinfonia Lahti'') is a Finnish orchestra, based in the city of Lahti. The orchestra is resident at the Sibelius Hall. The orchestra was founded in 1910, and placed under the control of the Lahti municipality in 194 ...

, the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra and the Jyväskylä Sinfonia. He has performed at Finnish music festivals such as the

Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival ( fi, Kuhmon Kamarimusiikki) is an international chamber music festival held every July for two weeks in Kuhmo, Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordi ...

and the Naantali Music Festival. In September 2017, Mäkelä first guest-conducted the

Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra ( sv, Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester) is a Swedish radio orchestra based in Stockholm, affiliated with Sveriges Radio (Sweden's Radio). Its principal performing venue is the Berwaldhallen (Berwald Hall). The ...

. On the basis of this appearance, in December 2017, the orchestra announced the appointment of Mäkelä as its next principal guest conductor, effective with the 2018–2019 season, with an initial contract of three years. Mäkelä is the youngest-ever appointment to a titled conductor post with the orchestra. Mäkelä was the artistic director of the

Turku Music Festival Turku Music Festival ( fi, Turun musiikkijuhlat, sv, Åbo musikfestspel) is the oldest continuously operating music festival in Finland. The festival was founded in 1960 by the Musical Society in Turku. The city festival offers audiences' big orch ...

2018–2022. In May 2018, Mäkelä first guest-conducted the

. On the basis of this appearance, in October 2018, the orchestra announced the appointment of Mäkelä as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2020–2021 season, with an initial contract of 3 seasons. This appointment marks the first chief conductorship for Mäkelä. In May 2020, the orchestra announced an extension of Mäkelä's initial contract with the Oslo Philharmonic for an additional four seasons, unusual in its timing before the official start of his tenure with the orchestra. In June 2019, Mäkelä first guest-conducted the

. In June 2020, the Orchestre de Paris announced the appointment of Mäkelä as its next music director, effective with the 2022–2023 season, with an initial contract of five seasons. The original intention had been for Mäkelä to hold the post of musical advisor for the two prior seasons, from 2020 to 2022. However, Mäkelä assumed the role of music director in September 2021, one year earlier than originally planned. In September 2020, Mäkelä first guest-conducted the

(Dutch acronym, KCO). Following several additional guest-conducting appearances, in June 2022, the KCO announced the appointment of Mäkelä as an artistic partner for the period of 2022–2027, and subsequently as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2027–2028 season, with an initial contract of five years. Mäkelä has an exclusive recording contract with Decca, only the third conductor in Decca's history with an exclusive recording contract. His first recording for Decca was a set of the complete Sibelius symphonies with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.

References

External links

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Harrison Parrott agency page on Klaus Mäkelä
{{DEFAULTSORT:Makela, Klaus 1996 births Finnish conductors (music) Living people Sibelius Academy alumni Cellists 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century cellists