The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) is one of the cornerstones of Latvian national culture. Founded in 1926 as the Riga Radio Centre Orchestra, the LNSO has borne its current name since 1990. The orchestra is a six-time winner of the Grand Music Award, Latvia’s highest honour in classical music. In May 2022, Finnish Tarmo Peltokoski became the Music and Artistic Director of the LNSO. In Autumn 2021, Estonian Kristiina Poska, Chief Conductor of the Flanders Symphony Orchestra, became the Principal Guest Conductor of the LNSO. The orchestra has been led by many brilliant talents and experienced significant growth under the baton of Vassily Sinaisky, Conductor Emeritus of the LNSO since 2017. More recently, notable contributions have been made by Olari Elts, Karel Mark Chichon, and Andris Poga, who was the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the LNSO from 2013 until 2021, when he became the Chief Conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Adviser to the LNSO.
