Rasmus Hella Mikkelsen

Assistant Conductor

Rasmus’ position as Assistant Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra will include his debut with the orchestra in the autumn of 2025, as well as several performances throughout the season. He will also make his debut with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra in the spring of 2026, and has previously been engaged as assistant conductor a number of times, including with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra from the fall of 2025. He has performed at the Bergen International Festival on several occasions, most recently in May 2025 at this year’s festival.

Rasmus is currently a participant in Talent Norway’s Dirigentforum, the elite programme of Dirigentløftet. Through this initiative, he has the opportunity to conduct orchestras such as the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, in masterclasses with prominent international conductors, such as Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Sakari Oramo. He has also participated in several masterclasses with Jorma Panula.

Rasmus received his conducting education through various programmes at the Barratt Due Institute of Music, where he studied under the mentorship of Alf Årdal and Eivind Aadland. He also has a Bachelor of Music Performance from the Barratt Due Institute of Music, where he studied with Stephan Barratt-Due, and a Master of Music Performance from the Norwegian Academy of Music, where he studied with Elise Båtnes. From 2022 to 2024, he held an internship with the Oslo Philharmonic.

Originally from Bergen, Rasmus began playing the violin at Bergen Kulturskole, and later continued his studies at Langhaugen Upper Secondary School, with Per Gisle Haagenrud as his teacher. He was also a violinist in the Bergen Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.

Photo: Nikolaj Lund