Thomas Dausgaard (; born 4 July 1963 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

) is a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

conductor.

Biography

Dausgaard studied conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen and with Norman Del Mar at the Royal College of Music in London. He subsequently participated in conducting masterclasses with Franco Ferrara, Leonard Bernstein and Hiroyuki Iwaki. In Scandinavia, Dausgaard became chief conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra from 1997. From 2001 to 2004, he was Principal Guest Conductor of the

Danish National Symphony Orchestra The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Danish: ''DR Symfoniorkestret''; English abbreviation "DNSO"), is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen. The DNSO is the principal orchestra of DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation). The DRSO is based at th ...

(DNSO), and became Chief Conductor in 2004, the first Danish conductor to hold the post. He concluded his principal conductorship of the DNSO at the close of the 2010–2011 season, and subsequently became the orchestra's ''æresdirigent'' (honorary conductor). Dausgaard concluded his tenure as chief conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra at the close of the 2018=2019 season, and subsequently took the title of conductor laureate with the orchestra. Dausgaard first guest-conducted the

Seattle Symphony The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera. History Beginnings The orchestr ...

in March 2003 and in 2013 he was named its Principal Guest Conductor, effective with the 2014–2015 season, with an initial contract of 3 years, later extended for another three years to the 2019–2020 season. He became the symphony's music director in the 2019–2020 season, with a 4 season contract. However, on 3 January 2022, Dausgaard resigned from the Seattle Symphony via e-mail, with immediate effect, citing a hostile work environment with the Seattle Symphony organisation. In March 2015, the

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional r ...

(BBC SSO) announced the appointment of Dausgaard as its next Chief Conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season. In January 2018, the BBC SSO announced the extension of Dausgaard's contract as Chief Conductor through the 2021–2022 season. Dausgaard concluded his tenure as chief conductor of the BBC SSO at the close of the 2021-2022 season. Dausgaard has been a regular conductor of the music of

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, and is the dedicatee of Nørgård's composition ''Terrains Vagues''. With the DNSO, he has recorded extensively for Chandos, EMI, Virgin and DaCapo labels, including Danish and other Scandinavian music, like works by

, symphony cycles of

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, works by August Enna and Asger Hamerik, as well as by

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. With the Swedish Chamber Orchestra Dausgaard has recorded the complete orchestral works by

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for Simax, and for BIS they have recorded works by

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, Richard Wagner, Anton Bruckner, Antonín Dvořák, Felix Mendelssohn,

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, as well as complete symphony cycles of Robert Schumann,

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

and Johannes Brahms, including Dausgaard's own orchestrations of 18 Hungarian Dances by Brahms. For the Seattle Symphony Media Label, Dausgaard has recorded symphonies by

and Gustav Mahler as well as works by

George Walker (composer) George Theophilus Walker (June 27, 1922 – August 23, 2018) was an American composer, pianist, and organist, and the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, which he received for his work ''Lilacs'' in 1996.De Lerma, Domin ...

, Richard Strauss, Alexander Scriabin and

of which several have been nominated for a Grammy. Dausgaard has three sons from his past marriage to Helle Hentzer. The marriage ended in divorce. He currently lives in Denmark with his partner, Alissa Rossius. Dausgaard has been awarded the Cross of Chivalry by the Queen of Denmark, and elected to the Royal Academy Academy of Music in Sweden.

References

External links

IMG Artists agency biography of Thomas Dausgaard

Chandos page on recording of Per Nørgård's Symphony No. 6 and ''Terrains vagues''

Los Angeles Philharmonic biography of Thomas Dausgaard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dausgaard, Thomas 1963 births Danish conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Living people Musicians from Copenhagen 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century male musicians