Anna-Maria Helsing
(c) Timo Heikkala
The BBC Concert Orchestra has announced Swedish-Finnish conductor Anna Maria Helsing, 51, as their new Chief Conductor. Officially starting in the role on 1st October 2023, Anna-Maria is contracted until 2026. As Chief Conductor, Anna-Maria joins a distinguished line of predecessors including the late Bramwell Tovey and Barry Wordsworth.
Anna-Maria Helsing began her career as a violinist. Since completing her studies at Sibelius Academy Helsinki, she has conducted all the major Finnish and Swedish orchestras and has gained an outstanding reputation with leading Scandinavian orchestras and opera houses. From 2010 to 2013 she was Chief Conductor of the Oulu Symphony; the first ever female conductor at the head of a Finnish symphony orchestra. Anna-Maria feels a special affinity for the sound and style of modernism and contemporary music, and in addition to her work with the BBC Concert Orchestra she is the Artistic Director of the high-profile chamber music festival Rusk in Jakobstad, Finland.
