Norwegian Tabita Berglund has been named the Dresden Philharmonic's new principal guest conductor, and will assume her new role in August 2025, at the start of the 2025/26 season. Before that, she will join the orchestra in late January 2025 to conduct Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich.
In its press release, the orchestra praised Berglund for "her charismatic performances and authentic, grounded nature," and called her appointment a "natural step" following Sir Donald Runnicle's selection as the ensemble's new Chief Conductor last year.
The 35-year-old Trøndelag native came to conducting almost as an accident. Initially training as a cellist, she completed a master's degree at the Norwegian Academy of Music (Norges musikkhøgskole, or NMH), and worked as a freelance musician from 2008 to 2018. In 2015, she sat in on Ole Kristian Ruud's conducting classes in order to take a course in ensemble management. She eventually decided to take up conducting full time, completing a second master's degree and attending masterclasses with Bernard Haitink, Jorma Panula, and Jaap van Zweden.
Berglund first conducted the Dresden Philharmonic in November 2023, when she directed a performance of Sibelius' Symphony No. 2. She described the experience as "incredibly inspiring." She added: "I experienced the highest quality, openness to intensive collaboration and an atmosphere at the concerts that I have rarely experienced in any other hall."
The musicians were similarly enthralled, and "wanted to intensify their artistic collaboration and tie the young, internationally successful artist closer to the orchestra."
Of her expectations for her tenure, Berglund said: "For me, the future of classical music lies in reaching younger audiences with our music, while at the same time creating a real human connection. I'm convinced that I can contribute to this in Dresden and am very much looking forward to working together."
Berglund is also set to debut with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
