“Danish conductor Thomas Dausgaard is internationally acclaimed as an artist “of huge conviction and outrageously good musicianship” (Europadisc), renowned for his creativity and innovation in programming, an extensive catalogue of critically acclaimed recordings, and for “cataclysmic…life-affirming…sublime…” performances (The Times). He is passionate about music’s engagement with society and the issues of our time, and its relevance and potential as a vital and innovative force in the life of current and future generations.

Dausgaard has recently been appointed as Principal Guest Conductor of the RTVE Symphony Orchestra and Choir from the 2024/2025 Season, following his successful tenure as Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (2016-2022). He also holds titles as Conductor Laureate of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra (Chief Conductor 1997-2019), Honorary Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Principal Guest Conductor 2001-2004, Chief Conductor 2004–2011), and Honorary Conductor of the Orchestra della Toscana. He was previously Principal Guest Conductor (2014-2019) and Music Director (2019-2022) of the Seattle Symphony. He has been awarded the Cross of Chivalry by the Queen of Denmark and elected to the Royal Academy of Music in Sweden.

Recent highlights include triumphant return concerts with the Tokyo Metropolitan and KBS symphonies; Brussels, Copenhagen, Dresden, and Wrocław philharmonics; Bamberg and Lucerne symphony orchestras; Brucknerhaus Orchestra in Linz; and Orchestre de Chambre de Paris.

As a guest conductor, Dausgaard has worked extensively with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Vienna and Bavarian Radio Symphonies, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester and Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Toronto Symphony, Houston Symphony, and Bergen Philharmonic with whom he is recording Bruckner symphonies for BIS. He has also appeared with the New York, Los Angeles, Munich, and St Petersburg Philharmonics, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and regularly at prestigious festivals worldwide, notably the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International, Salzburg, Mostly Mozart, Ravinia, and George Enescu Festivals, and Tanglewood. He has toured extensively in Europe and the US with “his” orchestras, as well as a week-long residency in Tokyo 2019, presenting the BBC Proms in Japan for the first time.

Dausgaard’s innovative “Roots”-programs – contextualizing classical music with other genres – include Sibelius, Stravinsky, Brahms, Bartok, Nielsen with groups of folk musicians, Mahler with klezmer music, Debussy with gamelan ensemble, and Rachmaninoff with orthodox chant, of which several have been presented at the BBC Proms. His latest commission project is “Scottish Inspirations”; fascinated by the diversity and richness of Scottish history, arts, and natural wonders Dausgaard has asked composers to make what inspires them about Scotland into a musical work – composers have included Sally Beamish, Anna Clyne, Helen Grime, and Bent Sørensen. Since Beethoven’s Complete Orchestral Music – for the first time with one partnership (Dausgaard and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra) –, Dausgaard’s CD recordings have consistently been praised, including several complete symphonic cycles – Schumann, Schubert, and Brahms (SCO), Langgaard (DNSO), Sibelius’ Kullervo and Bartok Orchestral works (BBC SSO), Mahler 10, Nielsen symphonies, and Strauss tone poems (Seattle SO), as well as CDs with Berlioz, Brahms, Liszt, Zemlinsky, Sibelius, and Danish composers Nørgård, Abrahamsen, Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Sørensen, and Nielsen (DNSO). As an arranger, Dausgaard’s orchestrations include Brahms’ Hungarian Dances, songs by Grieg and Sibelius, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an exhibition (with chorus). Dausgaard’s exploratory approach has taken him to remote parts of the globe, connecting with people of different cultures, from the Amazon to Borneo, from China to Pacific Islands. He has initiated a collaboration with a youth orchestra in the favelas of Sao Paulo and given conducting masterclasses from Spain to Beijing. During Covid lockdown Dausgaard launched a successful YouTube channel called Thomas’ Music Room, introducing “children and childlike souls” to music, and most recently, he has been hosting war refugees in Denmark.”