Aku Sorensen is a Finnish-American conductor and violinist. Born in California and now working mainly in Finland, Sorensen has appeared with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jyväskylä Sinfonia, the Pori Sinfonietta, the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra and the Tapiola Symphony, among others. Sorensen has also served as Principal Conductor of the Ylioppilaskunnan Soittajat since 2022.
Sorensen has a special interest in programming and curating, especially the integration of less frequently performed repertoire and contemporary music into conceptual programmes. He has conducted and presented numerous Finnish, European, and World premieres, and has revived many forgotten works of the past.
A strong believer in the importance of musical education, Sorensen has conducted a number of youth ensembles, including the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Western Helsinki Music Institute Chamber Orchestra. He also served as the conductor of the “Kuule Minä Sävellän” scheme in 2020, which provides young people the opportunity to compose and have their pieces premiered by professional ensembles.
Sorensen holds a Master’s degree from the Sibelius Academy where he studied in Sakari Oramo’s conducting class, and has also studied with several other successful conductors, including Jorma Panula, Hannu Lintu, Johannes Schlaefli, Roger Norrington, Péter Eötvös and Jukka-Pekka Saraste.
Sorensen also holds a Bachelor of Music from the Sibelius Academy in violin performance, completed under the guidance of Merit Palas.