"Aku Sorensen... is one of our most talented young conductors, a fact he emphatically demonstrated in his fresh and genuinely musical interpretation" (Mats Liljeroos, Hufvudstadsbladet)

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Aku Sorensen (b. 1997) is a Finnish-American conductor, born in California and based in Finland for the last ten years. A sought-after guest conductor, his career has seen him as a regular guest of orchestras throughout Finland, with frequent collaborators including the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Oulu Sinfonia, and Finnish National Opera and Ballet.

In the Spring of 2026, Sorensen won the Siemens-Hallé International Conductors Competition and was subsequently named the Assistant Conductor of The Hallé and Music Director of the Hallé Youth Orchestra for a three-year contract from 2026-2029. Prior to this, Aku served as the 20th principal conductor of the historic Ylioppilaskunnan Soittajat in Helsinki from 2022-2026, leading the ensemble through a critically acclaimed centennial season.

Sorensen has a keen interest in programming and curation, with a specific focus on integrating lesser played and contemporary repertoire into concept programs. He has conducted numerous Finnish, European, and World premieres of repertoire both of our time and found forgotten in the archives.

Nowhere is Aku’s interest in programming as obvious as at the festival “The Sounds of Luosto”, which he has served as artistic director of since 2019. Tied together with a tight theme and strong concept concerts, a weekend of music both chamber and orchestral played on a fell in Finnish Lapland sets contemporary music with well-known classics, forgotten names with household ones. The programming has proven popular, with an increasingly international audience, and Finnish composer Kalevi Aho has said the festival “has an attraction much in the way of the Savonlinna Opera Festival or the Salzburg Festival.”

Sorensen completed his Master’s of Music in Orchestral Conducting at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts, Helsinki under the tutelage of Professor Sakari Oramo. He has also received tuition from conductors such as Jorma Panula, Paavo Järvi, Hannu Lintu, Johannes Schlaefli, Sir Roger Norrington, Peter Eötvös, and Jukka-Pekka Saraste. 

Aku also holds a Bachelor of Music from the Sibelius Academy in violin performance, completed under the guidance of Merit Palas.