Artistic Achievements
Conductor, composer, violinist and pianist, Leif Segerstam (b. 1944) is one of the most versatile musical talents in all Scandinavia.
Having obtained diplomas in both the violin and orchestral conducting after studying at the Sibelius Academy from 1952 to 1963, he embarked on post-graduate conducting studies at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. He then spent three years as Conductor at the Finnish National Opera.
Segerstam regularly appears as guest conductor with symphony orchestras the world over. He was Chief Conductor of the Austrian (1975–82) and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (1977–87), and from 1983 to 1989 Generalmusikdirektor and subsequently lifelong Ehren-Gastdirigent of the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz. Chief Conductor of the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra 1988–95, he is now its Honorary Conductor. For the period 1995–2007 he was the 11th Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and now continues working with the orchestra as its Emeritus Chief Conductor.

Performances
In 1968 Leif Segerstam transferred to the Royal Opera, Stockholm, first as Conductor and after a couple of years as Music Director.
In the early 1970s he also worked in close partnership with the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Finnish National Opera, while making guest appearances at such illustrious venues as the New York Metropolitan, Covent Garden, La Scala, the operas in Munich, Hamburg and Cologne, and the Salzburg Festival. The Vienna State Opera and the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen followed in the 1980s.
For years he has conducted at the Savonlinna Opera Festival and was Chief Conductor of the Royal Opera in Stockholm 1995-2000.
As of the beginning of this year he has been Chief Conductor of the Opera in Malmo.

Recordings
His numerous recordings with various orchestras have likewise won Leif Segerstam a world-wide reputation. A prolific composer, he has a catalogue that includes 253 symphonies, violin concertos, piano concertos, numerous other instrumental works and a wealth of chamber and vocal music. His most recent premiere, of Symphony No. 239, was in Moscow on February 4, 2012.

Honours and Awards
Since autumn 1997 Leif Segerstam has been Professor of orchestral conducting at the Sibelius Academy. In 1999 the Nordic Music Council awarded him its Music Prize for his untiring promotion of Nordic music, and in spring 2003 he was the recipient of the Prize of the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland for his distinguished services to music. He was awarded the State Prize for Music in 2004 and the Sibelius Medal in autumn 2005.