Kristiina Poska

Principal Guest Conductor – Latvian National Symphony Orchestra
Music Director — Orchestre Français des Jeunes

Acclaimed for her artistry and versatility, Kristiina Poska stands among the most sought-after conductors on today’s international music scene. She serves as Music Director of the Orchestre Français des Jeunes since 2025, and as Principal Guest Conductor of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra since the 2021/22 season. Previously, she held the position of Chief Conductor of the Flanders Symphony Orchestra from 2019/20 through 2024/25.

This season, Poska debuts with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Essen Philharmonic, Sinfonia Varsovia, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. She also returns to the Orchestre National de Metz, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra. Her final performance as Chief Conductor of the Flanders Symphony Orchestra will feature Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. As Music Director of the Orchestre Français des Jeunes, she leads two European tours, with performances at the Opéra de Dijon, BOZAR Brussels, and Philharmonie de Paris, including a special concert for the Biennale des Quatuors à cordes.

Kristiina Poska 14 © Kaupo Kikkas — Kristiina Poska © Kaupo Kikkas

Recent highlights include her debuts with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Colorado Symphony Orchestra in North America; Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Sinfónica de Euskadi, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao in Spain; the Swedish and Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestras in Scandinavia; as well as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Montpellier, Lahti Symphony, Grazer Philharmoniker, and NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo. She has also appeared with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Royal Concertgebouworkest, Oslo Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others. Additional collaborations include the hr-Sinfonieorchester, Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.

Equally prolific in the operatic repertoire, Poska’s current season features a return to the Norwegian National Opera with Barrie Kosky’s production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Her recent operatic engagements include her debut at the Opéra de Dijon conducting Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Strauss’s Metamorphosen(directed by Dominique Pitoiset), a return to Staatsoper Berlin for Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Così fan tutte in productions at both the Norwegian National Opera and Royal Danish Theatre, Puccini’s La bohème (directed by Robert Carsen) at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Carmen at Staatsoper Stuttgart, and Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Semperoper). She has also worked with Komische Oper Berlin, Royal Swedish Opera, English National Opera, Finnish National Opera, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and Volksoper Vienna, among others.

Poska’s musical foundation was shaped at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater in Tallinn, where she studied choral conducting, and at Berlin’s Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, where she honed her orchestral conducting skills. Her remarkable talent was recognized early through her finalist placements at the prestigious Donatella Flick LSO Competition (2010) and the Malko Competition (May 2012), where she was also awarded the Audience Prize. In April 2013, she won the esteemed German Conductors’ Prize.

Her previous appointments include Chief Conductor of the Flanders Symphony Orchestra (2019/20 – 2024/25), Principal Conductor of Cappella Academica (2006 – 2011), Kapellmeister at Komische Oper Berlin (2012 – 2016), and Music Director for Theater Basel (2019/20). With the Flanders Symphony Orchestra, Poska continues her recording of the complete Beethoven symphony cycle for the Fuga Libera label.