Maris Gothoni appointed as the General Manager of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Gothoni will start work as the General Manager of the FRSO on 1 August 2024. He moves to the position of the General Manager of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra from the position of the Head of Artistic Planning of the Belgian National Orchestra.
Maris Gothoni, who will return to his home country from international management positions, has previously held a similar position at the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in 2018–2023. In addition, he has worked in a variety of planning roles in classical music in different countries. In Finland, he planned the 2023 summer programme of Porvoon Suvisoitto together with the Korean composer Unsuk Chin.
Gothoni studied at the Berlin University of the Arts and graduated with a degree in solo piano. He has also studied arts management at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre.
The General Manager’s duties include the planning of the orchestra’s artistic activities in cooperation with the Chief Conductor, the related contract negotiations and the managerial responsibility for the orchestra administration. The General Manager works in the Creative Content and Media unit and is a member of the unit’s management team. In this role, he will report to Director Ville Vilén.
"Tuula Sarotie, who will retire in September, has had an amazing career at the FRSO. We are very happy to get a top expert like Maris to lead our orchestra. Promoting culture is at the heart of Yle’s public service, and the FRSO is carrying out this mission by offering music experiences to everyone, regardless of income level or place of residence," says Ville Vilén, Director of Yle’s Creative Content and Media unit.
Maris Gothoni, the FRSO’s future General Manager, is very happy about his appointment for the position. "I am grateful and excited to be able to work with Chief Conductor Nicholas Collon and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and I feel particularly honoured to succeed Tuula Sarotie as the next General Manager. The FRSO is a globally respected ambassador for Finnish music life. It’s a true 21st-century art institution: diverse, open-minded, conscious of heritage yet at the same time boldly forward-looking. It's a dream come true to return to my home country after 25 years spent abroad to work with a fantastic orchestra. I have unforgettable memories of the FRSO from the time I was a child and I look forward to our shared journey!"
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO) is an Yle symphony orchestra with a history dating back almost 100 years whose mission is to produce and promote Finnish music culture. The orchestra’s concerts reach hundreds of thousands of listeners every week, both at Musiikkitalo and on Yle's TV channels and radio stations. The orchestra’s Chief Conductor is Nicholas Collon.
