Winner of the 2015 Royal Philharmonic Society Conductor of the Year award, Sakari Oramo is Chief Conductor of both the BBC Symphony and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic orchestras, and Principal Conductor of the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra. Between 1998 and 2008 he was Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and between 2004 and 2018 he was Principal Conductor of the West Coast Kokkola Opera. After a decade as Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, he has now served as their Honorary Conductor since 2012.

Recent highlights include returns to the Berliner Philharmoniker, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Staatskapelle Dresden, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He continues to champion the promotion of new and rarely performed works with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Recent highlights also include concerts with the Czech Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. During the summer of 2018, he conducted several Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, including the First Night of the Proms, and the BBC Singers. He has also previously conducted the Last Night of the Proms (in 2014, 2016 and 2017).