New principal guest conductor for Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra

Tabita Berglund is to become the new Principal Guest Conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic. The Norwegian will take up the position for the 2025/26 season, the orchestra announced on Thursday. The 35-year-old succeeds Kahchun Wong, who is Principal Guest Conductor for the current and upcoming seasons.

According to Artistic Director Frauke Roth, the decisive factor in choosing such a young conductor was that this would create new ways of communicating, break down hierarchies and allow an artistic partnership of equals to develop between musicians and conductor. ‘I am convinced that, in addition to great seriousness and enormous artistic will, it is precisely this cooperation that creates particularly moving musical experiences. Tabita Berglund will certainly contribute to consolidating excellence, attracting new audiences and moving towards the future as the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra in an open and innovative way,’ emphasised Roth.

Berglund made her first guest appearance with the Dresden Philharmonic in November 2023. The musicians expressed a desire to deepen their artistic work together. This first encounter with the orchestra was incredibly inspiring for her, the conductor explained. She had experienced the highest quality, openness for intensive joint work and an atmosphere in the concerts that she knew from hardly any other hall. The audience is not only physically close to the orchestra and vice versa, but there is a real sense of connection that is hugely motivating artistically.

‘For me, the future of classical music lies in reaching younger audiences with our music and at the same time gaining human closeness. I am convinced that I can contribute to this in Dresden and am very much looking forward to working with the orchestra,’ said Berglund, who will return to the orchestra as a guest conductor for three concerts at the beginning of next year. She will then make her debut as Principal Guest Conductor in August with the concert at the opening of the 2025/26 season.