Stavanger Symphony Orchestra

The orchestra is to be an innovative player for symphonic music and has international ambitions.

Located on Norway’s southwest coast, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra (SSO) performs in Stavanger Concert Hall, regarded as one of the finest acoustic venues in Europe.

Andris Poga has been the orchestra’s Chief Conductor since the 2021–22 season. Recent guest conductors have included Karina Canellakis, Pablo Heras-Casado, James Gaffigan, Dalia Stasevska, Fabien Gabel, Jan Willem de Vriend, and Andrew Manze.

The orchestra has released a substantial catalogue under SSO Recordings, in addition to acclaimed albums of Scandinavian music for BIS and baroque repertoire with Fabio Biondi for Naïve. SSO has toured in Japan, the United States, Germany, Finland and the Netherlands. Early music has been a key artistic pillar for the orchestra. Frans Brüggen served as Artistic Director for Early Music from 1990–1997, followed by Philippe Herreweghe (2000–2004) and Fabio Biondi (2006–2016).

The orchestra was nominated for a Spellemann Award in 2018 and for a Grammy Award in 2020, for Gisle Kverndokk’s Symphonic Dances.

Founded in 1938, the orchestra today consists of 85 musicians representing 24 nationalities.