“The BBC Concert Orchestra has appointed Finnish conductor Anna-Maria Helsing as its new principal guest conductor,” writes Susan Elliott in Thursday’s (11/21) Musical America (subscription required). “Helsing has honed her craft over a significant period of time, having made her debut at the Finnish National Opera in 2008 leading Adriana Mater by Kaija Saariaho. She has led a number of world premieres, most recently Momo at the Royal Danish Opera and Magnus-Maria by Karólína Eiríksdóttir on tour in Scandinavia. Helsing began her career as a violinist, leading chamber orchestras before serving as artistic director of the Pietarsaari Sinfonietta and conductor of the Wegelius Chamber Orchestra. She has … studied under Esa-Pekka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel at the International Conductor’s Academy of the Allianz Cultural Foundation. In 2011 she became the first conductor to be awarded the Louis Spohr Medal in Seesen (Germany).… In 2010 she became the first-ever female conductor at the helm of a Finnish orchestra when she took over the Oulu Symphony for three years. At the BBC CO, Helsing joins a conducting staff that includes Bramwell Tovey (principal), Barry Wordsworth (laureate), and Keith Lockhart (chief guest). She’ll also be working with composer-in-residence Dobrinka Tabakova.”
Posted November 21, 2019
