Thomas Søndergård
The Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård is Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra and Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, having previously served as their Principal Guest Conductor for six seasons. From 2012 to 2018, he was Chief Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW), following his tenure as Chief Conductor and Musical Advisor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Kringkastingsorkesteret).
In the 2025/26 season, Thomas Søndergård conducts a wide range of programs with the Minnesota Orchestra, including a continuation of their Nordic Composers Festival as well as projects with leading soloists such as Joyce DiDonato, Yo-Yo Ma, and Kirill Gerstein. Alongside concert series in Scotland and recording projects, highlights with the RSNO include the closing concert of the Edinburgh International Festival 2025 and extensive tours in Europe and China. As a guest conductor this season, he returns to the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Oslo Philharmonic, while also making his debut with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. He will also serve on the jury of the London Symphony Orchestra’s Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in 2025.
He has appeared with many leading orchestras in Europe’s major musical centers, including Berlin (such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and Konzerthausorchester Berlin), Munich (Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra), Zurich (Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich), Leipzig (Gewandhausorchester), Paris (Orchestre National de France), London (London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Philharmonia Orchestra), as well as Amsterdam and Rotterdam (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra). He is also a frequent guest in Scandinavia and has worked with orchestras such as the Oslo Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
In North America, he has conducted orchestras including those of New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore, St. Louis, Toronto, Atlanta, Montreal, Vancouver, Houston, and Seattle. He has also enjoyed great success on tours in China, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
