Niklas Willén (born 30 March 1961) is a Swedish

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

. He was born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and studied conducting and composition there at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

. His conducting teachers were Professors

Jorma Panula Jorma Juhani Panula (born 10 August 1930) is a Finnish conductor, composer, and teacher of conducting. He has mentored many Finnish conductors, such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mikko Franck, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Osmo Vänskä, Klaus ...

and Kjell Ingebretsen, while his composition tutors were Ingvar Karkoff and

Daniel Börtz Daniel Börtz (born 8 August 1943) is a Swedish composer, born in Hässleholm. He studied composition under Hilding Rosenberg, Karl-Birger Blomdahl and Ingvar Lidholm. Among his works are the operas ''Backanterna'' (1991), ''Marie Antoinette'' (1 ...

. Niklas Willén has served as Principal Guest Conductor of the

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ( or , literal translations, "Royal Philharmonic" or "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm. Its principal venue is the Konserthuset. History The orchestra was foun ...

, Chief Conductor of the Nordic Chamber Orchestra in Sweden and the South Jutland Symphony Orchestra in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. He has also been Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the

Volkstheater Rostock The Volkstheater Rostock () is the municipal theatre of the Hanseatic city of Rostock. It has three venues: the ''Großes Haus'', the ''Theater im Stadthafen'' and the ''Kleine Komödie'' and puts on plays, musical theatre/opera, ballet ...

and the

Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock The Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, based in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, is the state's largest symphony orchestra and also the orchestra of the Volkstheater Rostock. Founded in 1897, the orchestra grew to 90 musicians by 1991. Th ...

. He is currently Chief Conductor of the

WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln The is a German broadcast orchestra of the ' (WDR, West German Broadcasting) in Cologne. The orchestra gives its concerts in such venues as the Kölner Philharmonie and in the Funkhaus Wallrafplatz. History Groups from which the orchestra was ...

in Cologne. Willén works with major orchestras and opera houses in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

, the rest of Europe and the USA. He has recorded for a number of labels including

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

, BIS and Hyperion. He has 4 children, Linnea, Julius, Hugo and Ossian.

External links

Niklas Willén
bio on the

site
Niklas Willén
bio on the Hyperion site
Niklas Willén - conductor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willen, Niklas 1961 births Living people Swedish male conductors (music) Royal College of Music, Stockholm, alumni 21st-century Swedish conductors (music) 21st-century Swedish male musicians Chief conductors of the WDR Funkhausorchester