Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra names Tarmo Peltokoski as its next Music Director

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) announced Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski as its next Music Director beginning in the 2026/27 season.

“I am delighted to welcome Maestro Peltokoski as the next Music Director of the HK Phil,” said David Cogman, Charmain of the Board of Governors of the HK Phil and of the Music Director Search Committee. “He is a remarkable and visionary musician, and we are very fortunate that he will write the next chapter in our orchestra’s history.”

“After being highly impressed by the orchestra last year, I knew this would be a long-lasting relationship,” said Tarmo Peltokoski. “The HK Phil is surely one of the absolute top orchestras in Asia. I am very much looking forward to lots of inspiring music-making with the brilliant HK Phil musicians in the years to come.”

 

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Tarmo Peltokoski to lead the HK Phil

The Finnish conductor will succeed Jaap van Zweden for a four-year term as the 9th Music Director of the HK Phil. He will take on the position after serving as Music Director Designate during the 2025/26 season. During the same season, he will also be Music Director of the Orchestra National du Capitole de Toulouse.

He first made his debut with the HK Phil in the 2022/23 Season Finale concert. He conducted the orchestra in performing Sibelius’ Finlandia, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10. Today and tomorrow, he will be conducting at the sold-out HK Phil 2023/24 Season Finale: Tarmo Peltokoski & Seong-Jin Cho. This September, he will also conduct at the 2024/25 Season Opening: Tarmo Peltokoski & Daniel Lozakovich.

More about the upcoming Music Director

At just 24 years old, Tarmo Peltokoski will be the youngest Music Director ever to lead the HK Phil. He first started studying conducting at 14 years old under Jorma Panula. His music education continued at Sibelius Academy, where he studied under Sakari Oramo, Hannu Lintu, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and more.

In 2022, he became “Principal Guest Conductor” of The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the first conductor to do so in 42 years. Later that year, he also became Music and Artistic Director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. In recent seasons, he made debuts with orchestras worldwide, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, and the HK Phil.

Aside from conducting, Tarmo Peltokoski is also an accomplished pianist. He started playing the instrument at the age of eight and studied it at the Sibelius Academy with Antti Hotti. As a pianist, he has won many awards from competitions and performed as a soloist with all major Finnish orchestras. On the side, he has also studied composing and arranging, with a focus on music comedy and improvisation.

(Images: HK Phil)