The dismissed conductor was frustrated with the new training program: “The Sibelius Academy has been lost”

Orchestra– and from his professorship in conducting training at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts resigned Sakari Oramo criticized the Sibelius Academy’s decision to establish a new education program on Wednesday.

New Master’s program in Music Business the purpose is to train more music business professionals in Finland and thereby increase the international success of Finnish music.

Oramo wrote on his Facebook page that he no longer understands the operations of the Sibelius Academy and is partly leaving his professorship next spring. In his original post, he mentioned that “some higher-than-average explosive charge would be needed now,” but has since removed the sentence.

Oramo expressed in his writing the contradiction between orchestra training and the new master’s program. According to him, the program focusing on music export has been started at the same time as the orchestra training has been reduced.

“The Sibelius Academy has been lost, it has grown too big and multidisciplinary and the content doesn’t seem to have any meaning,” he writes.

Oramo has been a professor of orchestra and conductor training at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts since 2020. He plans to continue in the role of chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which began in 2013, at least until 2030.

Oramo messaged HS that he did not want to comment further on his Facebook post.

University of the Arts Dean of the Sibelius Academy Emilie Gardbergin according to the new training program is not excluded from orchestral training.

Gardberg believes that the criticism is based on a misunderstanding of the university’s current funding.

“When training is expanded to a new subject, it does not mean that the rest is taken away,” Gardberg tells HS by phone.

The financing of the program focused on music export will be self-financed in the future, unlike many previous programs of the Sibelius Academy.

The training program is supported by the Teosto Cultural Foundation with funding of 100,000 euros, and its partners are Music Finland, the Norwegian University of Agder, and US institutions.

Oramo wrote that the orchestra training at the Sibelius Academy was being reduced, and for example the orchestra musician training program he ran has not been established at the university.

According to Gardberg, there are no reductions in orchestra training. The scope of orchestral training is most influenced by the government guidance received by the universities, i.e. in practice, how many of the students in the field graduate within the deadline.

Gardberg says that he hasn’t even heard of Oramo’s orchestra musician training program.

“At least this kind of training initiative has not been formally done.”