Thomas Søndergård

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English: Francesco Piemontesi and Thomas Søndergård rehearsing with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at Royal Albert Hall, London.

Thomas Søndergård (born 4 October 1969 in Holstebro, Denmark) is a Danish conductor and percussionist.

Biography[]

Søndergård studied percussion at the Royal Danish Academy of Music from 1989 to 1992, where his teachers included Gert Mortensen. In the same years Søndergård was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra. He joined the Royal Danish Orchestra as a percussionist in 1992. He served on the faculty of the Royal Danish Academy of Music from 2001 to 2002.

Søndergård devoted greater attention to conducting from age 27.[1] After his debut at The Royal Danish Opera with the premiere of Poul Ruders' Kafka's Trial in 2005, Søndergård joined the Askonas Holt management. In 2009 he became principal conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK) and concluded his KORK tenure after the 2011-2012 season.[2]

Søndergård first conducted the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) in December 2009, as an emergency substitute for Thierry Fischer. In July 2011, Søndergård was named the 14th principal conductor of the BBC NOW, effective with the 2012-2013 season, for an initial contract of 4 years.[3][4] In February 2016, the BBC NOW announced the further extension of his contract as principal conductor through "at least 2018".[5] Søndergård formally concluded his tenure as principal conductor of the BBC NOW in July 2018.[6]

Søndergård first guest-conducted the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) in 2009. as an emergency substitute for Yakov Kreizberg. In October 2011, the RSNO named him its principal guest conductor, effective with the 2012-2013 season, with an initial contract of 3 years for 3 programmes per year.[7] In May 2017, the RSNO announced the appointment of Søndergård as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2018-2019 season.[8] In February 2021, the RSNO announced the extension of Søndergård's contract as music director through autumn 2024.[9]

In 2021 Thomas Søndergård premiered "The Wonder Of Life" of the French composer Régis Campo with the Orchestre national de France in (Auditorium de Radio France).

Sondergard has recorded a number of CD's for the Linn label[10] and for the DaCapo label, including music of Bent Lorentzen, Per Nørgård, and Poul Ruders.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ Karen Price (2011-07-15). "Scandinavian cool: conductor Thomas Søndergård". Western Mail. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  2. ^ Fred Olav Vatne (2011-07-12). "KORK må finne ny sjefdirigent". Norwegian Radio. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  3. ^ "BBC National Orchestra of Wales announces new Principal Conductor" (Press release). BBC. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  4. ^ Peter Collins (2011-07-12). "Great Dane to be chief BBC National Orchestra Wales conductor". Western Mail. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  5. ^ "BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales' Principal Conductor Thomas Søndergård extends his contract" (Press release). BBC. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  6. ^ Tim Ashley (2018-07-23). "BBCNOW/Thomas Søndergård review – bowing out in style". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  7. ^ "Thomas Søndergård joins RSNO Artistic Team" (Press release). Royal Scottish National Orchestra. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  8. ^ Keith Bruce (2017-05-25). "RSNO names its new Music Director". The Herald. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  9. ^ "RSNO and Thomas Søndergård announce three-year contract extension for Music Director at launch of Spring/Summer Digital Season" (Press release). Royal Scottish National Orchestra. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  10. ^ Fiona Maddocks (2015-04-12). "Sibelius: Symphonies 2 & 7 CD review – intense and rigorous". The Observer. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  11. ^ Anthony Tommasini (2011-06-10). "Poul Ruders". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-07-31.

External links[]

Cultural offices
Preceded by
Rolf Gupta 		Principal Conductor, Norwegian Radio Orchestra
2009–2012 		Succeeded by
Miguel Harth-Bedoya
Preceded by
Thierry Fischer 		Principal Conductor, BBC National Orchestra of Wales
2012–2018 		Succeeded by
Ryan Bancroft
Retrieved from ""