Estonian conductor Risto Joost will remain music director of the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn (WKO) for another two years. The 46-year-old has signed an early contract extension until summer 2030, the orchestra announced on Tuesday. The musicians unanimously voted in favor of the extension. Joost has held the position since 2024.

Katrin Kirsch and Risto Joost

"The collaboration with the orchestra is very fruitful," said WKO director Katrin Kirsch about the chief conductor. "He is very popular with the audience and brings us many new impulses, not least through his background in Baltic music, but also, for example, through his collaborations with top-class choirs and vocal soloists."

Joost explained that he was extremely pleased that the WKO wanted to continue its collaboration with him. "The past two years have been incredibly inspiring for me, both personally and in terms of our professional relationships. The WKO's unwavering musical dedication and its high artistic quality are the guiding principles that brought me to Heilbronn.".

Joost was chief conductor of the MDR Radio Choir from 2015 to 2019. Since 2020, he has been artistic director of the Theatre Vanemuine, a three-genre theater in Tartu, Estonia's second-largest city. From the 2027/28 season, he will also become chief conductor of the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra in Finland. Joost is the fourth chief conductor of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra (WKO), following orchestra founder Jörg Faerber, Ruben Gazarian, and Case Scalgione.

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