The Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra (Finnish: ''Keski-Pohjanmaan Kamariorkesteri'') is an

ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''En ...

based in

Kokkola Kokkola (; sv, Karleby, ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. The town is located in the Central Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of ...

Western Finland Western Finland ( fi, Länsi-Suomen lääni, sv, Västra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. ...

. When configured as a larger symphony orchestra, reinforced with local musicians, the orchestra is referred to as the Kokkola Orchestra.

The Organisation

The Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra was founded by Juha Kangas in 1972. The Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra performs regularly at home and abroad, with foreign tours to Japan and other European countries, including the Mozart Festival in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

. The Orchestra performs music from the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

to the present. The orchestra has done important work as an ambassador of contemporary Finnish music. The collaboration with the composer

Pehr Henrik Nordgren Pehr Henrik Nordgren (19 January 1944 – 25 August 2008) was a Finnish composer. Life Pehr Henrik Nordgren was born in Saltvik, Åland. received composition lessons starting from 1958 in Helsinki and studied musicology at the university from 196 ...

(1944–2008) between 1973 and his death was exceptionally fruitful. Nordgren wrote 22 works for the Orchestra, including his String Quartets 5–8 for the Kokkola Quartet made up of members of the Orchestra, and two works for the Kokkola Orchestra. In the autumn of 2018, the orchestra began a series of concerts featuring all Beethoven's nine symphonies. The concert series will end in 2020, when Kokkola will celebrate its 400th anniversary, and it will also be 250 years since Beethoven's birth. The orchestra will be joined by the

Tapiola Sinfonietta The Tapiola Sinfonietta (founded 1987) is a city orchestra of Espoo, Finland. The orchestra consists of 41 members and its principal concert venue is Tapiola Hall (with 773 seats) at the Espoo Cultural Centre. At the beginning Jorma Panula, Osmo V ...

for the ninth symphony for the series's conclusion. Conductors have included

Sakari Oramo Sakari is a given name, and may refer to: * Sakari Kukko (born 1953), Finnish saxophonist and flutist * Sakari Kuosmanen (born 1956), Finnish singer and actor * Sakari Oramo (born 1965), Finnish conductor * Sakari Pinomäki, Finnish mechanical and ...

Klaus Mäkelä Klaus Mäkelä (born 17 January 1996) is a Finnish conductor and cellist. He is currently chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic, music director of the Orchestre de Paris, and artistic partner and chief conductor-designate of the Royal Concertg ...

John Storgårds John Gunnar Rafael Storgårds (born 20 October 1963 in Helsinki) is a Finnish violinist and conductor. Biography Storgårds studied violin with Esther Raitio and Jouko Ignatius at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and continued his violin studies ...

and Juha Kangas. Juha Kangas led the orchestra until the end of 2008 and was one of the four conductors of the orchestra in 2009–2013, including Sakari Oramo, Tuomas Hannikainen and Johannes Gustavsson. In autumn 2013, Sakari Oramo started as an artistic director of the orchestra. The concert master is Reijo Tunkkari. Juha Kangas is still an honorary conductor of orchestra.

References

{{Authority control Finnish orchestras Musical groups established in 1973 Kokkola