John Storgårds, an acclaimed conductor and violin virtuoso, is the Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic and Turku Philharmonic orchestras and serves as Jury Chair for the XIII International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition.

Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa, John Storgårds has a dual career as a conductor and violin virtuoso, although conducting around the world nowadays effectively fills his schedule. He has held the title of Artistic Director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra since 1996. From 2008 to 2015 he was the Chief Conductor of the Helsinki City Orchestra and has also held permanent conducting positions in Oulu, Tapiola, Tampere and Munich.

Storgårds appears with orchestras such as Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Münchner  Philharmoniker, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Netherlands  Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, BBC Symphony  Orchestra, and London Philharmonic Orchestra as well as all major Nordic orchestras.

As a violinist, Storgårds regularly performs as chamber musician and in recital, with appearances at festivals worldwide including the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland and Santa Fe  Chamber Music Festival in the USA. He has premiered numerous violin concertos written for him. John Storgårds was Artistic Director of the Korsholm Music Festival 2004-2006 and Artistic Director of LuostoClassic 2003-2013.

John Storgårds serves as Jury Chair for the XIII International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition.