The Polytech Orchestra ( fi, Polyteknikkojen Orkesteri; PO) is a symphony orchestra based in

Otaniemi Otaniemi (Finnish), or Otnäs (Swedish), is a district of Espoo, Finland. It is located near the border of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Otaniemi is located on the southern shore of the Laajalahti bay, next to the district of Tapiola near th ...

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

. It was founded in 1922 and is thus the oldest Finnish academic student orchestra. The conductor of the orchestra is currently . There are about 100 active musicians at the PO, most of whom are students from

Aalto University Aalto University ( fi, Aalto-yliopisto; sv, Aalto-universitetet) is a public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the He ...

and other universities and schools within the greater Helsinki area. PO's annual concert program includes autumn, Christmas and spring concerts in the Helsinki metropolitan area and a spring tour to various parts of Finland. The orchestra has also performed abroad in Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, the Baltic states, Sweden and Scotland. The PO concert program is complemented by various charity and subscription concerts, such as the Printempo Concert at the Aalto University's alongside other music communities (Dominante,

The Polytech Choir The Polytech Choir ( fi, Polyteknikkojen Kuoro; PK) is an academic male choir established in 1900. The majority of the choir's members are engineering students and graduate engineers from Aalto University. The activities of the choir include trad ...

, Retuperän WBK, Boston Promenade, Polirytmi, Humpsvakar, the

Kauppakorkeakoulun Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat Helsinki Academic Male Choir KYL (in Finnish: Kauppakorkeakoulun Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat or KYL), founded in 1949, is an academic male choir from Helsinki, Finland. The choir is associated closely with Aalto University School of Business, consis ...

(KYL, Helsinki Academic Male Choir) and the Helsinki Academic Female Choir (KYN). The orchestra includes as well several smaller bands, such as their string quartets, the horn quartet Cornostar and the Polytechnic's Salon Orchestra.

Conductors

* Eero Saari, 1922–23 * Eero Koskimies, 1923–35 * Sulho Ranta, 1935–39 * Heikki Aaltoila, 1940–56 * Aarre Hemming, 1956–58 *

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 M� ...

, 1958–60 *

Pentti Antila Pentti Malakias Antila (28 September 1926, in Lavia – 20 August 1997) was a Finnish agronomist, farmer and politician. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland, representing the Finnish Rural Party (SMP) from 1970 to 1972 and the Finnish ...

, 1964–66 * , 1966–68 * Seppo Laamanen, 1968–69 * Ylermi Poijärvi, 1970–73 *

Atso Almila Atso Almila (born 13 June 1953, in Helsinki 1) is a Finnish orchestral conductor, music director, composer, trombonist and teacher. He has worked with most Finnish orchestras as a guest conductor or otherwise. Though he primarily operates in Finlan ...

, 1975–79 * Ari Rasilainen, 1979–81 * Timo Pulakka, 1982–83 * Juhani Lamminmäki, 1983–86 * Juha Nikkola, 1987–1990 *

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 ...

, 1990–92 * Hannu Norjanen, 1992–99, 2003 *

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 ...

, 1999–2002 *

Eva Ollikainen Eva Ollikainen (born 12 February 1982, Espoo) is a Finnish conductor. In 2019, Ollikainen was appointed chief conductor and artistic director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, in a four year contract to commence with the 2021 season. Early li ...

, 2003–05 * Petri Komulainen, 2005–2013 * Andreas Vogelsberger, 2013–2016 * Eero Lehtimäki, 2016–2018 * James S. Kahane, 2018–

Recordings

* Teekkarimarsseja (1937) (produced by the Polytech Orchestra and Choir, ODEON record company) * 75 Years Celebration of the Polytech Orchestra (1997) * Tree Time (1997) (Collaboration with Dominante Choir) * Polyphony (1998) (Humorous concert with other TKY music associations) *

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

recording (2000) * Tupsahdus recording (2002) (Humorous concert with other TKY music associations) ** '' Ouverture solennelle 1812'' (by Pyotr Tchaikovsky; recording at the Kallio Church 9/2002) * Nordgren recording (2005)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Polytech Orchestra Symphony orchestras Finnish orchestras Music in Helsinki Musical groups established in 1922

Conductors

Recordings

See also

External links