The Oulu Symphony Orchestra ( fi, Oulu Sinfonia or ') is a Finnish
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
based in
Oulu
Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. Oulu Sinfonia gives concerts primarily at the Oulu Music Centre, in the ''Madetojan sali'' (Madetoja Concert Hall), located in the
Karjasilta district, and named for
Leevi Madetoja
Leevi Antti Madetoja (; 17 February 1887 – 6 October 1947) was a Finnish composer, music critic, conductor, and teacher of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely recognized as one of the most significant Finnish ...
, who was born in Oulu.
History
The roots of the orchestra date back to 1856, with the first attempts to establish a permanent orchestra in Oulu. The Oulu Music Society (''Oulun Soitannollisen Seuran'') was established in 1901, and worked with such musicians as
Toivo Kuula and
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest com ...
. The current orchestra officially began its activities in 1937, as the Oulu Orchestra. In 1954, the city of Oulu granted the orchestra the rights to use the name of the Oulu City Orchestra, and municipalised the orchestra in 1961. The orchestra took up its current residence at the Oulu Music Centre in 1983. The orchestra acquired its current name of ''Oulu Sinfonia'' in 2005.
Under the orchestra's current name, past chief conductors of the orchestra have included
Dima Slobodeniouk
Dima Slobodeniouk (Димa Слободенюк;( born 1975) is a Finnish conductor based in Finland.
Biography
As a youth, Slobodeniouk began his violin studies in Moscow, from 1980 to 1989, at the Moscow Central Music School, where his teacher ...
(2005-2008) and
Anna-Maria Helsing (2010-2013). Helsing was the first female chief conductor in the history of the orchestra. Since 2013, the chief conductor of Oulu Sinfonia is Johannes Gustavsson. Under Gustavsson, Oulu Sinfonia has recorded commercially for such labels as Ondine.
Chief conductors (partial list)
* Urpo Pesonen (1944–1959)
*
Ari Angervo (1985-1990)
*
Peeter Lilje (1990–1993)
*
Arvo Volmer (1994–2005)
*
Dima Slobodeniouk
Dima Slobodeniouk (Димa Слободенюк;( born 1975) is a Finnish conductor based in Finland.
Biography
As a youth, Slobodeniouk began his violin studies in Moscow, from 1980 to 1989, at the Moscow Central Music School, where his teacher ...
(2005–2008)
* Anna-Maria Helsing (2010–2013)
* Johannes Gustavsson (2013–2021)
*
Rumon Gamba (2021–present)
References
External links
Official website of Oulu SinfoniaAssociation of Finnish Symphony Orchestras, English-language page on Oulu Sinfonia
Finnish orchestras
Musical groups established in 1937
Symphony Orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...
1937 establishments in Finland
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