Dima Slobodeniouk
was principal conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra from 2016 until 2021. Since September 2013 he has also been music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, winning particular praise for his inventive programme planning and deep knowledge of the repertoire. In his conducting, Slobodeniouk combines the cultural and musical heritage of the country of birth, Russia, with that of his adopted homeland, Finland.

Orchestras with which he has worked include the Concertgebouworkest in Amsterdam, Berliner Philharmoniker, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and the Boston, Chicago and Sydney Symphony Orchestras. Soloists at concerts he has conducted include Leif Ove Andsnes, Lisa Batiashvili, Yefim Bronfman, Truls Mørk, Yuja Wang, Frank Peter Zimmermann and Patricia Kopatchinskaja.

Born in Moscow, Dima Slobodeniouk studied the violin at Moscow Central Music School, Jyväskylä Conservatory and Sibelius Academy. He studied conducting under Atso Almila, Leif Segerstam and Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy, and also under Ilya Musin and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Slobodeniouk has in recent years worked with students at the Verbier Festival Academy and begun a conducting initiative with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, providing an opportunity for students to work on the podium with a professional orchestra.

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra
is an orchestra that is proud of its traditions but also has an innovative attitude. At the heart of its activity is a broad and wide-ranging series of symphony concerts, plus high-quality concerts of lighter music. The orchestra is based at the Sibelius Hall, the acoustics of which have been listed as among the best in the world.

For some decades the chief conductors have been Finnish musicians of worldwide renown – Osmo Vänskä, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Okko Kamu, Dima Slobodeniouk and most recently Dalia Stasevska, who took over as principal conductor in the

autumn of 2021. The same conductors have also served as artistic director of the Sibelius Festival that the orchestra has organized since 2000.

The widespread worldwide acclaim of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra stems from its extensive catalogue of recordings, numerous international tours and online concerts. More than thirty years of recordings, mostly for BIS, have resulted in around a hundred discs, many international record prizes, three platinum discs and seven gold discs.

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra has appeared at many prestigious festivals and at leading venues all over the world, including the BBC Proms in London, the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg, performances in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Philharmonie in Berlin, Musikverein in Vienna and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Concert tours have taken the orchestra to Japan, China, South Korea, the USA, South America and many European countries.