The Ylioppilaskunnan Soittajat ("YS", the Helsinki University Symphony Orchestra) is a symphony orchestra resident in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. It was founded in 1926. It is a full-sized symphony orchestra, and performs concerts and tours both at home in Finland and abroad and takes part in various academic festivities.

History

The Ylioppilaskunnan Soittajat can trace its roots back to the year 1747, when the Akateeminen Kapelli (the Academic Capella) was founded at the Turku Academy

The Royal Academy of Turku

The Royal Academy of Turku was the first university in Finland, and the only university in present-day Finland to be founded when it was still a part of Sweden. In 1809, after Finland became a Grand Duchy under the suzerainty of the Russian Tzar, it was renamed the Imperial Academy of Turku...

.

After the great fire of Turku

Turku

Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...

 in 1827, the university moved to Helsinki, taking the orchestra with it.

From 1868 until 1926, the orchestra was run as a department of the University of Helsinki

University of Helsinki

The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...

, under the name of Akadeeminen Orkesteri (the Academic Orchestra). In 1926 the Academic Orchestra gained its independence and became the Ylioppilaskunnan Soittajat.

Conductors

A number of world-famous Finnish conductors started their careers as principal or assistant conductor of the Ylioppilaskunnan Soittajat, including Paavo Berglund

Paavo Berglund

Paavo Allan Engelbert Berglund is a Finnish conductor.Born in Helsinki, Berglund studied the violin as a child, and played an instrument made by his grandfather. By age 15, he had decided on music as his career, and by 18 was playing in restaurants...

, Okko Kamu

Okko Kamu

Okko Kamu is a Finnish orchestral conductor.Kamu was born into a family of musicians. His father played double bass in the Helsinki Philharmonic. He began violin studies at age two and entered the Sibelius Academy at age six. He formed his own string quartet, the Suhonen, in 1964 where he played...

 and Susanna Mälkki

Susanna Mälkki

Susanna Mälkki is a Finnish conductor. Trained as a cellist as a pupil of Hannu Kiiski, she later studied conducting with Jorma Panula, as well as Eri Klas and Leif Segerstam, at the Sibelius Academy. She has also studied at London's Royal Academy of Music...

.

Principal Conductors of Ylioppilaskunnan Soittajat

Conductor	Dates
Toivo Haapanen	1926-1936
Jussi Jalas Jussi Jalas Jussi Jalas was a Finnish conductor and composer.-Biography:Jussi Jalas was born as Armas Jussi Veikko Blomstedt in Jyväskylä in 1908. His father was the architect Yrjö Blomstedt. He studied at the Helsingfors Conservatory 1923-30 , and then in Paris 1933-34, under Wladimir Pohl, Pierre Monteux...	1936-1946
Erik Cronvall	1946-1966
Leif Segerstam Leif Segerstam Leif Segerstam is a Finnish conductor and composer.He studied violin, piano and conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and conducting at the Juilliard School in New York with Jean Morel....	1966-1967
Kari Tikka	1967-1972
Ilpo Mansnerus	1972-1974
Ylermi Poijärvi	1974-1976
Alf Nybo	1976-1979
Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.-Early career:...	1979-1980
Petri Sakari	1980-1985
Markus Lehtinen	autumn 1983, 1985-1988
Tuomas Pirilä	1988-1990
Michael Adelson Michael Adelson Michael Adelson is an American orchestral conductor. As of 2011 he is conductor of the Auros Group for New Music and a cover conductor for the New York Philharmonic.- Biography :...	1990-1992
John Storgårds John Storgårds John Gunnar Rafael Storgårds is a Finnish violinist and conductor.Storgårds studied violin with Esther Raitio and Jouko Ignatius at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and continued his violin studies with Chaim Taub in Israel. He was a founding member of the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra...	1992-1996
Tuomas Rousi	1996-2001
Jyri Nissilä	2001-2003
David Searle David Searle (conductor) David Searle is an American conductor. He is Director of Orchestral Activities and Conducting Studies in the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music of the Catholic University of America.- Studies :...	2003-2007
Mikk Murdvee Mikk Murdvee Mikk Murdvee is an Estonian-Finnish conductor and violinist living in Helsinki, Finland.-Education:Mikk Murdvee was born in Tallinn...	2007-

External links

• Homepage of Ylioppilaskunnan Soittajat
• Homepage in English