Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra

The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1905 and currently consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra is based in Gothenburg Concert Hall – a gem of functionalism on Götaplatsen square that has enchanted music lovers since 1935.

Santtu-Matias Rouvali has been Chief Conductor since 2017 and will serve this role until 2025. Since 2019, Barbara Hannigan has been the Principal Guest Conductor. The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra is also a proud partner of Barbara Hannigan’s »Equilibrium« mentoring program focusing on young singers at the start of their careers.

Wilhelm Stenhammar was the orchestra’s Chief Conductor from 1907 to 1922. He gave the orchestra a strong Nordic profile and invited his colleagues Carl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius to work with the orchestra. Under the direction of conductor Neeme Järvi from 1982 to 2004, the orchestra made a series of international tours as well as a hundred disc recordings and established itself among Europe’s leading orchestras. In 1996, the Swedish Riksdag appointed the Gothenburg Symphony as Sweden’s National Orchestra.

In recent decades, the orchestra has had prominent Chief Conductors such as Mario Venzago, Kent Nagano and Gustavo Dudamel. Anna-Karin Larsson is CEO of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Gustavo Dudamel serves as Honorary Conductor, and Neeme Järvi is Chief Conductor Emeritus. The orchestra’s owner is the Region Västra Götaland.