©Photo: Kaupo Kikkas

Kristiina Poska

Conductor

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Chief Conductor — Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen
Principal Guest Conductor – Latvian National Symphony Orchestra

The award-winning conductor Kristiina Poska is in high demand on the international music scene. She has held the post of Chief Conductor of Flanders Symphony Orchestra since 2019/20 season and Principal Guest Conductor of Latvian National Symphony Orchestra since 2021/22. Having studied choral conducting at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater in Tallinn, and orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, Berlin. Poska was a finalist at the renowned Donatella Flick LSO Competition in 2010 and at the Malko Competition in May 2012 where she won the audience prize. She then went on to win the prestigious German Conductors’ Prize in April 2013.

This season’s highlights include several appearances in the United Kingdom – debuts with BBC Philharmonic and BBC Scottish Symphony orchestras and a tour with Scottish Chamber Orchestra. She returns to Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestre National de France and appears in Switzerland twice during the season – with Bern Symphony Orchestra and with Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and Orchestre de l’HEMU in a special programme with 95 musicians involving students from the Lausanne Conservatory. She tours with Flanders Symphony Orchestra several times during the season performing in Belgium, Netherlands, and France.

Past seasons’ highlights include debuts with Royal Concertgebouworkest, Orchestre National de Lille, Aalborg Symfoniorkester and the Hallé, and returns to Oslo Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and MDR Sinfonieorchester. Additionally, Poska has worked with orchestras such as hr-Sinfonieorchester, Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Gothenburg Symphony, Tokyo, Estonian National Symphony Orchestras, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Tonkünstler Orchester Niederösterreich, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Camerata Salzburg, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, and Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich.

Equally prolific in the operatic repertoire, this season Poska conducts productions of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte at the Royal Danish Theatre and Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. Recent opera productions include Puccini’s La Boheme by Robert Carsen at the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, The Magic Flute by Yuval Sharon at Die Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, Carmen with Staatsoper Stuttgart, and Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Semperoper) in recent seasons. She has appeared with Komische Oper Berlin, Royal Swedish Opera, Norwegian Opera, Semperoper Dresden, English National Opera, Finnish National Opera, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Staatsoper Stuttgart and Volksoper Vienna.

Poska’s previous roles have included Principal Conductor of Cappella Academica from 2006 to 2011, and Kapellmeister at Komische Oper Berlin from 2012 to 2016, and Music Director for Theater Basel for the 2019/20 season. Poska’s latest recording of Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 1&7 released on Fuga Libera/Outhere is the fruit of her successful collaboration with the Flanders Symphony Orchestra.