Esa-Pekka Salonen

Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish composer and conductor of classical music. He was the music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for 17 years, during which time he was responsible for the building of Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall. He is currently the Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of London's Philharmonia Orchestra.

 

Esa-Pekka Salonen is known as both a composer and conductor. He is currently the Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, where he works alongside eight Collaborative Partners from a variety of disciplines ranging from composers to roboticists. He is Conductor Laureate for London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, where, as Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor from 2008 until 2021, he spearheaded digital projects such as the award-winning RE-RITE and Universe of Sound installations and the much-hailed app for iPad, The Orchestra; the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where he was Music Director from 1992 until 2009, and was instrumental in opening the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall; and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. As a member of the faculty of LA's Colburn School, he develops, leads, and directs the pre-professional Negaunee Conducting Program. He is the cofounder—and until 2018 served as Artistic Director—of the annual Baltic Sea Festival. In 2015 he addressed the Apple Distinguished Educator conference on the uses of technology in music education, and his Violin Concerto was featured in an international campaign for iPad.

Click here for Salonen's full biography 

Click here for Salonen's complete list of compositions