Detroit Symphony Orchestra Announces New Principal Guest Conductor

Norwegian conductor Tabita Berglund will assume the role as of the 2024/25 concert season

Tabita Berglund will join the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) as its new Principal Guest Conductor as of the 2024/25 season on an initial four-year contract. 

Currently the Principal Guest Conductor of Norway’s Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra Berglund first conducted the DSO in January 2023 when she made her acclaimed U.S. debut at Orchestra Hall.

In her new role with the DSO, Berglund will undertake an extended artistic collaboration with the orchestra across multiple weeks per season. Her projects include leading the U.S. premiere of Anna Clyne’s Times and Tides (a DSO co-commission) with violinist Pekka Kuusisto. 

In March 2025, she will return to conduct Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 with Cédric Tiberghien and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.  

Berglund’s upcoming engagements also include her Asian debut with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in November 2024, as well as conducting the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Berner Symphonieorchester, and more.

“What struck me the first time I worked with the [DSO] is that this is an orchestra which knows that music matters,” Berglund said in the press release. “Their ambition to shape the future of their community through artistic excellence very much coincides with my belief that music has the power to change lives. I am proud to join the artistic team of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and look forward to our adventures ahead.”

​“We are honoured to welcome Tabita to the DSO family,” said DSO’s President and CEO Erik Rönmark, writes HarrisonParrott. ​“From the moment she came to Orchestra Hall, we knew there was a special connection with our musicians that created outstanding music-making. 

“The addition of Tabita’s talent and magnetic energy to our orchestra increases our ability to explore different musical worlds,” Rönmark added. “She joins an incredible artistic leadership team of Music Director Jader Bignamini, Principal Pops Conductor Enrico Lopez-Yañez, and Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Terence Blanchard, which will bring the DSO to even greater heights for many years to come.”