Jakub Przybycie will be the new chief conductor of the Arctic Philharmonic in Norway. The Polish-born conductor will take up the post starting with the 2027/28 season, the orchestra announced on Tuesday. "Jakub is someone with great professional and artistic integrity," said managing director Trud Berg. "He can connect with the ensemble both as a whole and individually.".

Jakub Przybycie? (left) with Trud Berg

Przybycie? will be the third chief conductor in the history of the ensemble, founded in 2009, following the Swede Christian Lindberg and the Dane Christian Kluxen (2018-2023). His contract initially runs for three years with an option to extend. "I hope the orchestra and I will really get to know each other and develop a sound that we can recognize as our own. That is perhaps my most important goal," the conductor explains.

Initially active as a violinist, Przybycieć also studied conducting in Wrocław and Zurich. From the 2026/27 season, he will be assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for two years. This season, he will make his debut conducting the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Borusan Istanbul Symphony Orchestra, and the Jena Philharmonic. He will also return to the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra.

Since participating in the 2024 Malko Conducting Competition in Copenhagen, in which two musicians from the Arctic Philharmonic also performed, Przybycieć has visited the orchestra several times. His first concert as its chief conductor will be in the autumn of 2027, at the season opening.

The Arctic Philharmonic is considered the northernmost professional orchestra in the world. It is based in the cities of Tromsø and Bodø. The musicians perform ten to twelve times a year as a full symphony orchestra and also give regular concerts as a Sinfonietta in Bodø and as a chamber orchestra in Tromsø.

He wants to bring the various ensembles together and develop a unified sound for the Arctic Philharmonic as a full symphony orchestra, Przybycie explained. "I would like to make this unified sound and musical identity accessible to audiences all over the world."

“The Arctic, as well as Sami and Kven culture, are an important part of our identity,” added orchestra director Berg. “Jakub’s willingness to explore and develop the unique flavor of a particular piece of music or sound aligns with our own ambitions. He can go beyond mainstream classical music to see what’s out there. He enjoys it, and so do we,” she emphasized.

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