The Prague Philharmonic Choir (PPC) is a leading European vocal ensemble, and as one of the Czech Republic’s foremost artistic institutions operates under the trusteeship of the Czech Ministry of Culture. During the choir’s long history since its foundation in 1935, it was directed by a succession of some of the most distinguished Czech choirmasters (including Jan Kühn, Josef Veselka and Lubomír Mátl). Since 2007 its principal conductor has been Lukáš Vasilek.

The PPC’s repertoire is centred primarily around oratorios and cantatas. The choir has worked with eminent international orchestras (the Czech Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden or Wiener Symphoniker, among others), and conductors (including Daniel Barenboim, Semyon Bychkov, Christoph Eschenbach, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Manfred Honeck, Jakub Hrůša, Philippe Jordan, Fabio Luisi, Zubin Mehta, Tomáš Netopil, Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Simon Rattle). As the choir in residence at the opera festival in Bregenz, Austria, the PPC is likewise active in the domain of opera.

Apart from these commitments, the PPC engages in several own projects. Since 2011 it has organised its own concert series in Prague, with a programme focused on technically demanding and/or lesser-known choral works, either a cappella or with chamber-scale instrumental accompaniment. The PPC has taken some of these choral projects abroad (including within its tours in the USA and Mexico – 2014, in Russia – 2018). The choir regards as an inseparable part of its activity educational endeavours targeting the young. In this context, it has been involved in organising a Choral Academy for voice students, a project aimed at enabling young artists to acquire practical skills through work with a professional vocal ensemble; and with focus on young children, running a series of educational concerts and a programme of voice workshops in schools.

The PPC has to its credit an extensive discography, with many titles released by major international labels (e. g. Decca Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical and Supraphon). In recent years the choir has taken part in several unique recording projects, two of them in association with the Czech Philharmonic. The first of these, a recording of Antonín Dvořák’s Stabat Mater (Decca, 2017), with Jiří Bělohlávek conducting, received the coveted Diapason d’Or de l’Annèe award for the year’s best album in the sacred music category. The second, a recording of Bohuslav Martinů’s The Epic of Gilgamesh (Supraphon, 2017), under the baton of Manfred Honeck, won several awards in the United Kingdom in 2017, plus another Diapason d’Or. Its album featuring chamber cantatas of Bohuslav Martinů (Supraphon, 2016), received top accolades of the prestigious British magazines Gramophone (Editor’s Choice) and BBC Music Magazine (Choral and Song Choice). In the latter, it was also nominated for its annual award in the choral music category. In 2020, Decca Classic released an album of Antonín Dvořák’s music (Te Deum, Requiem), in which the Prague Philharmonic Choir participated.

In the 2022/2023 season, the Prague Philharmonic Choir’s activities in the Czech Republic include concerts at several festivals such as the Dvořák Prague, Smetana’s Litomyšl, and the Prague Spring. The choir will also appear in performances together with the Czech Philharmonic, Prague Symphony Orchestra, or Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and will perform under renowned conductors such as Semyon Bychkov or Daniel Harding. The international activities include a performance at Bruckner National Festival in Linz and the choir will also return to the opera festivals in St. Gallen and Bregenz.

The Prague Philharmonic Choir is the recipient of the 2018 Classic Prague Award for Best Vocal Concert, and Czech Television’s Classical Music of the Year Award. In 2022, the choir was awarded the Antonín Dvořák Prize.

Sakari Oramo is Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic after thirteen years of leading the orchestra as their Chief Conductor. A guest conductor at the highest international level and a prolific recording artist, his performances combine structural cohesion with authority, elegance and passionate delivery.

Guest engagements during the 2022/23 season include returns to the Berliner Philharmoniker, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

Engagements in the past season have included appearances with Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Wiener Symphoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Berliner Philharmoniker and NDR Elbhilharmonie Orchester.

In 2018, he conducted the European premiere of Brett Dean’s new Cello Concerto, performed by Alban Gerhardt with Berliner Philharmoniker. Oramo has most recently worked with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Staatskapelle Dresden, Wiener Philharmoniker, Czech Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic and Helsinki Philharmonic orchestras. 

2022/23 marks Oramo’s tenth season with the BBCSO. With this Orchestra, he continues to champion new and rarely performed works – including Dora Pejačević’s Symphony and Piano Concerto with Peter Donohoe, William Alwyn’s opera Miss Julie and Betsy Jolas’ Onze Lieder – presenting them alongside stalwarts such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto (with Håkan Hardenberger). The season also includes BBCSO’s Tour to Spain and performance at the Last Night of the Proms. Oramo is a regular conductor at the BBC Proms and during the summer of 2022 he conducted several with the BBCSO and Chorus – including the First Night of the Proms presenting Verdi’s Requiem.

Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra between 1998 and 2008, Oramo has served as Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra’s Honorary Conductor since 2012, following a decade as their Chief Conductor. He was also the Principal Conductor of the West Coast Kokkola Opera from 2004 to 2018 and Principal Conductor of the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra from 2013 to 2019. An accomplished violinist, Oramo was originally concertmaster of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2014 he made his debut in the BBC Proms Chamber Music series, performing Prokofiev’s Sonata for Two Violins with Janine Jansen.

Recording successes include the BBC Music Magazine’s Orchestra award for Nielsen Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3 with Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, which completes their highly acclaimed Nielsen cycle on the BIS label, and a Gramophone Award win in the 2019 Orchestral category for Rued Langgaard Symphonies Nos.2 and 6, and Jacob Gade’s Tango Jalousie with Wiener Philharmoniker and soprano Anu Komsi. Busoni’s Piano Concerto with Kirill Gerstein recorded with Boston Symphony Orchestra (Myrios) won the Audio and Video category at the 2020 ICMA awards. Other recent releases include the BBC Symphony Orchestra orchestral works by Sibelius (including the Lemminkäinen Suite), Rachmaninov Piano Concertos Nos.2 and 3 with Yevgeny Sudbin, and Florent Schmitt: Suites from 'Antoine et Cléopâtre' and Symphony No.2. 

“The gleaming steel of Anu Komsi’s soprano cut through all of it, fearlessly communicative and utterly compelling, from whispered bottom of her voice to its stratospheric top.” (The Guardian, November 2020)

One of Finland’s foremost international singers, Anu Komsi’s versatility, technical skill and wide-ranging repertoire have earned her critical acclaim worldwide. Throughout her eminent career, she has worked with distinguished directors such as Pierre Audi, Barrie Kosky, Christoph Loy, Juho Kuosmanen and Lydia Steier, and leading conductors including Sir Roger Norrington, Sakari Oramo, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alan Gilbert, Franz Welser-Möst, Peter Eötvös, Hannu Lintu, Andris Nelsons, Nicholas Collon, Santtu-Matias Rouvali and Dalia Stasevska.

2022/23 season highlights include Komsi’s return to Finnish National Opera as Queen of the Night Die Zauberflöte (which she also performs later in the season for Savonlinna Opera) and Mother-in-Law Innocence, Lindberg’s Accused with Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, the world premiere of Jukka Tiensuu’s Double Concerto for Violin and Soprano with Minna Pensola and Tapiola Sinfonietta, Strauss’ Four Last Songs with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and performances of Saariaho’s Saarikoski Songs with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo. She also appears in concert with Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic.

Komsi has worked with many of the major opera companies and festivals around the world, including Opéra National de Paris, Lucerne and Salzburg Festivals and La Scala Milan, and important orchestras such as the Wiener Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchestre de Paris, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic to name a few. Prominent engagements from the last seasons include Eva in Stockhausen’s Donnerstag aus Licht for Theater Basel (Komsi is still the only singer to have performed the role through its entire 6-hour duration); Catherine in Meyerbeer’s L'étoile du Nord for Kokkola Opera; Soprano in Sir George Benjamin’s Into The Little Hill, which she has sung on over fifty occasions across Europe and the US, most recently with Ensemble Modern at venues including Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Wigmore Hall; Sibelius’ Luonnotar with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic; Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Wing on Wing with the NDR Elbphilharmonie under Alan Gilbert; her Boston Symphony Orchestra debut with the orchestral version of Saariaho’s Saarikoski Songs under Andris Nelsons; and Kurtág’s Kafka Fragments, which has been in Komsi’s repertoire for over thirty years, most recently performed at Kissinger Sommer Festival and CNDM Madrid. She has made many recordings, including Langaard’s Symphony No.2 (Wiener Philharmoniker/Sakari Oramo) and Saariaho’s Leino Songs (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo), which both garnered a Gramophone Award.

Founder, Artistic Director and later Managing Director of the West Coast Kokkola Opera Company for fourteen seasons, Komsi oversaw the Kokkola Opera summer festival which produced 25 full-scale opera productions, as well as over 100 concerts and events. A champion of new repertoire for the soprano voice, Komsi has commissioned and premiered a vast range of works, including Kaija Saariaho’s Saarikoski Songs; Christian Mason’s Man Made and Unsuk Chin’s Cantatrix Sopranica. She was awarded the Madetoja Prize by The Finnish Composers’ Society in 2020, and in 2021 was the recipient of the prestigious Erik Bergman Prize for her special achievements in performing and commissioning new vocal repertoire internationally.