Eva Ollikainen (born 12 February 1982,

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 ...

) is a Finnish conductor. In 2019, Ollikainen was appointed chief conductor and artistic director of the

Iceland Symphony Orchestra Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands (Iceland Symphony Orchestra) (ISO) is an Icelandic orchestra based in Reykjavík, Iceland. Its primary concert venue is the Harpa Concert Hall. The Iceland Symphony is an autonomous public institution under the aus ...

, in a four year contract to commence with the 2021 season.

Early life and education

Ollikainen began piano studies at age 3, and also learned the violin and French horn. She started conducting studies by age 12. She attended 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 al ...

from 1994 to 2002 and graduated in 2002 with a Master of Music Degree in piano. She studied conducting 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 M ...

and

Leif Segerstam Leif Selim Segerstam ( , ; born 2 March 1944) is a Finnish conductor, composer, violinist, violist and pianist, especially known for writing 350 symphonies as of August 2022, along with other works in his extensive oeuvre. Segerstam has con ...

. Ollikainen has been a member of the Finnish contemporary ensemble Uusinta, and has premiered several works of Finnish composers.

Career

In 2003, Ollikainen won the second Jorma Panula Conductors' Competition. She first guest-conducted the

in 2005. In the summer of 2006, she was a

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the ...

Music Center conducting fellow, the only fellow that year who already had agency representation. She returned as guest conductor with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra on three occasions between 2007 and 2010, and once again in February 2019. In June 2017, the

Nordic Chamber Orchestra Nordic most commonly refers to: * Nordic countries, written in plural as Nordics, the northwestern European countries, including Scandinavia, Fennoscandia and the North Atlantic * Scandinavia, a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in ...

(''Nordiska Kammarorkestern'') announced the appointment of Ollikainen as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2018-2019 season, with an initial contract of 3 seasons. This appointment marked Ollikainen's first chief conductorship, and she is the first female conductor to be named to this post. In June 2019, the

announced the appointment of Ollikainen as its next chief conductor and artistic advisor, effective with the 2020-2021 season, with an initial contract through 2024. According to the contract, she was involved in at least four weeks during the season at Harpa Concert Hall, and involved with international tours. Ollikainen was the first female conductor to be named ISO chief conductor. In November 2019, the

Orchestra della Toscana 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, cel ...

also announced the appointment of Ollikainen as its next principal conductor, the first female conductor to be named to the post, effective with the 2020-2021 season.

References

External links

Eva Ollikainen's homepage (English)

Karsten Witt agency German-language page on Eva Ollikainen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ollikainen, Eva Finnish women conductors (music) 1982 births 21st-century conductors (music) Living people Finnish expatriates in Iceland 21st-century Finnish women musicians 21st-century Finnish musicians People from Espoo Sibelius Academy alumni