Aku Sorensen is a Finnish-American conductor and violinist. Born in California and now working mainly in Finland, Sorensen has appeared with the Finnish National Ballet, the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jyväskylä Sinfonia, the Pori Sinfonietta, the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra and the Tapiola Sinfonietta, among others. Sorensen also served as Principal Conductor of the Ylioppilaskunnan Soittajat 2022-2026.
In March of 2026, Sorensen won the Siemens-Hallé International Conductors Competition in Manchester. In the fall of 2026, he will begin a three-year appointment as the assistant conductor of the Hallé and the music director of the Hallé Youth Orchestra.
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.
Sorensen holds a Master’s degree from the Sibelius Academy where he studied in Sakari Oramo’s conducting class, and has also received tuition from conductors such asJorma 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.
Photo Mario Ramirez