Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) has announced that Finnish conductor John Storgårds will become the NAC Orchestra’s eighth music director, beginning in the 2026–2027 season. Storgårds succeeds Alexander Shelley, who will conclude his tenure as the orchestra’s current music director in July 2026.
Storgårds debuted with the NAC Orchestra in 2013 and has served as its principal guest conductor since 2015. He is also currently chief conductor of the BBC Philharmonic and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as artistic director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra. An accomplished violinist, Storgårds has forged a dual career as conductor and instrumentalist, performing as a soloist and chamber musician.
As a conductor, he has appeared with many of the world’s foremost orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, where he was chief conductor from 2008 to 2015.
Under his baton, the NAC Orchestra has given first performances of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 3, Vaughan Williams’s Symphony No. 5, Nielsen’s Symphony No. 2, and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 3. A passionate advocate for 20th and 21st-century repertoire, he has also led the orchestra in music by Kaija Saariaho, Sunleif Rasmussen, Sebastian Fagerlund, Betsy Jolas, Outi Tarkiainen and Victoria Poleva.
John Storgårds comments:
'I couldn’t be more honoured, happy, and thrilled to become music director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, an orchestra I already love so deeply. When I look back at the highlights of each season, my concerts with the NAC Orchestra always stand out among the very best moments. Not only is it a fantastic orchestra, it is also a family of wonderful musicians and people, with whom I have felt a special bond from the very first time we worked together. I also look forward to strengthening my relationship with the Orchestra’s devoted, enthusiastic, and justifiably proud audience, as well as with all Canadians.'