Conductor Eva Ollikainen Renews Contract at the Iceland Symphony Orchestra

Ollikainen will remain with the orchestra until the close of the 2025/26 season

The Finnish conductor Eva Ollikainen has renewed her contract with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra (ISO), where she has been Principal Conductor and Artistic Director for the past three years. Ollikainen will remain in the post until the close of the 2025/26 season.

She will conduct between six and eight subscription concerts per season, and will also lead the ISO on international and domestic touring — including a recent tour of the United Kingdom. Ollikainen will also continue her work as director of the ISO Conductors' Academy, which she founded in 2021.

A graduate of the Sibelius Academy, Ollikainen has led the Helsinki Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Royal Danish Orchestra, and the Wiener Symphoniker. In the realm of opera, she has appeared at the Royal Danish Opera, the Kennedy Center Opera, and Staatskapelle Dresden.

Ollikainen recently conducted the BBC Philharmonic at the BBC Proms in London and made her debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in two concerts at the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Hall.

"I still remember like yesterday the first time that I came to work with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in 2005," Ollikainen said. "I remember the immediate musical connection with the musicians – it was one of the best moments in my life. This has remained a very deep musical relationship."

"Many of the musicians that play with us today were not a part of the orchestra back then, and some of the people that played with us back then are not with us anymore," she continued. "But the spirit of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra remains the same. I enjoy every second working with these fantastic musicians, and I look forward to so many more musical moments together in the future. I want to thank the Iceland Symphony Orchestra musicians, administration, and board for their trust."

"Eva took over as principal conductor and artistic director at a highly unusual time: during the middle of a global pandemic," said Lára Sóley Jóhannsdóttir, the orchestra's managing director. "While the next two years brought great challenges, they also offered unique opportunities."

"Eva is a unique artist with a great deal to offer – to her colleagues, to the community, and not least to our loyal audiences. She has enormous ambition for the Icelandic musical society and has had tremendous success with the orchestra. We look forward to evolving and growing with Eva in the coming years."