Tabita Berglund appointed Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Berglund becomes the first Norwegian conductor to hold the post since 1985 and the first Norwegian female chief conductor of one of Norway’s major symphony orchestras.
She launches the Bergen Philharmonic’s 2026-27 season as Chief Conductor Designate on 27 August 2026 and will continue as Chief Conductor from August 2027.
Berglund’s inaugural season includes world premiere of Ørjan Matre’s new percussion concerto, Nordic premiere of Ondřej Adámek’s Thin Ice, and works by Brahms, Bartók, Ravel, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Pärt and others.
The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is delighted to announce the appointment of Tabita Berglund as its Chief Conductor. She begins her official tenure in August 2026 as Chief Conductor Designate, before assuming the post of Chief Conductor in August 2027. Berglund, who succeeds Edward Gardner, becomes the first Norwegian conductor to take charge of the Bergen Philharmonic since Karsten Andersen’s long relationship with the orchestra ended in 1985, and the first Norwegian female chief conductor of a major Norwegian symphony orchestra. She will conduct the orchestra in 10-12 programmes each season, lead them on international tours and add new recordings to the award-winning discography. Her initial tenure is set to run until July 2031.
Tabita Berglund’s engagement as Chief Conductor stemmed from the success of her main-series concert debut with the Bergen Philharmonic in September 2025. Her eloquent artistry and innate authority, reflected in a white-hot performance of Witold Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra and equally powerful interpretations of Ludvig Irgens-Jensen’s monumental Passacaglia and the Cello Concerto No.2 by Grażyna Bacewicz, drew unanimous praise from the orchestra’s players. She began her association with the orchestra in 2015 as a deputy in its cello section and conducted it for the first time in December 2020 in a behind-closed-doors performance of Sibelius’ Seventh Symphony for the Bergenphilive video series.
In addition to her commitments in Bergen and schedule of guest performances with leading international orchestras, Tabita Berglund is currently Principal Guest Conductor of Detroit Symphony Orchestra (from the 2024/25 season) and of Dresden Philharmonic (from 2025/26).
“I am happy, proud and humble to become the new Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra,” says Tabita Berglund. “It is a great honour, and the fact I have been personally chosen by the orchestra’s musicians makes me even happier. Having widely conducted abroad, this appointment feels like coming home. It makes me especially happy to be the first Norwegian to hold the post since Karsten Andersen over forty years ago.”
“I remember well my first week in the Bergen Philharmonic’s cello section, playing Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 under its then-Chief Conductor, Andrew Litton. It felt like being a small cog in a well-oiled machine, where the sound of my cello mixed with the rest of the group and became part of that deep, rich and sweet sound which I immediately fell in love with. I spent several weeks as part of the cello group before taking up conducting and finally stepping up on the podium in Bergen’s Grieghallen for the first time. My experience as an orchestral musician has been invaluable for me to succeed as leader and conductor. My goal is to become a conductor that I would want to play with.”
“An important part of our programming will be to present more Norwegian – and Nordic music beyond Norway – both at home and abroad, while placing it in its proper international setting. Everybody knows Edvard Grieg’s music. But we are sitting on a treasure trove of Norwegian and Nordic music with which many people are unfamiliar. And right now, new works are being composed to a very high level. Whenever I conduct this music abroad, the feedback is invariably positive.”
“By choosing Tabita Berglund as Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic, we begin a new and important chapter in our history,” says the orchestra’s Chief Executive, Sigurd Sverdrup Sandmo. “She has rapidly established herself as a unique Norwegian conductor, with a career that already encompasses leading orchestras in Europe and the United States. The strong artistic connection that the Bergen Philharmonic felt when working with Tabita proved a decisive factor in her appointment. The advisory vote among the musicians gave us clear feedback: here is a conductor alongside whom the orchestra wishes to develop in coming years.”
The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra has combined tradition with renewal ever since its foundation in 1765. “We will continue to cultivate our great symphonic heritage while aiming to develop the orchestra’s repertoire and audience and enhance our international reputation,” notes Sandmo. “In Tabita Berglund we gain a Chief Conductor who has both a close personal relationship with the Nordic music tradition and a natural international outlook. We have great expectations of what we are about to build together.”
Published 17 March 2026
Photos: Oddleiv Apneseth