Latvian Krista Audere to become Chief conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir
The Latvian conductor Krista Audere is to become the new chief conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir from the 2027/2028 season. She will thus assume overall artistic responsibility for one of the world’s leading professional choirs.
Krista Audere has quickly established herself as one of the most sought-after choral conductors of her generation. She won the Eric Ericson Award in 2021 and has since worked regularly with the Swedish Radio Choir and several other leading radio choirs in Europe. She has an international career with ensembles including the BBC Singers, the Danish National Vocal Ensemble and Cappella Amsterdam, and has taught choral conducting at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague since 2024.
Audere’s musical background includes studies at the Riga Cathedral Choir School and the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, as well as further studies in Stuttgart and Amsterdam. In 2016, she obtained a Master’s degree cum laude from the Amsterdam School of the Arts. She also has experience as a singer with Latvijas Radio Koris and Cappella Amsterdam, a background which has given her a deep understanding of the choir as an instrument and its working processes.
As its Chief conductor, Krista Audere will lead the Swedish Radio Choir in a number of productions each season and play a key role in developing the repertoire, commissioned works, international collaborations and tours. Her first appearance in this role will be in September 2027, but she will be conducting the choir in a concert at Berwaldhallen as early as May.
– I am deeply grateful to become the Chief Conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir, making music with these extraordinary singers and contributing to its remarkable legacy of vocal excellence. I am truly honoured to have been chosen for this opportunity of a lifetime, says Krista Audere.
– With her inspiring and responsive leadership, combined with a deep respect for tradition, Krista Audere has built a fantastic career amongst Europe’s very best choirs. Taking on the Radio Choir is one of the greatest artistic challenges one can face internationally – but also by far the most rewarding. The choir members are incredibly delighted, and the decision to appoint Krista as our new principal conductor has been warmly welcomed and strongly supported by the singers, says Helene Stureborg, Head of Planning for the Radio Choir.
– We have an exciting time ahead of us with new Chief conductors for the Radio Choir and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Both Krista Audere and Andrés Orozco-Estrada are joining us with a strong commitment to our ensembles, to our public service mission and to our audiences. It feels really good! says Staffan Becker, General Manager of Swedish Radio Concert Hall, Berwaldhallen.
– The Swedish Radio Choir is a source of great pride for Sveriges Radio, an ensemble at the musical forefront, combining width with brilliance. A new chapter is now beginning in the choir’s 101-year history, with the highly sought-after Krista Audere as chief conductor. The fact that she has won Sveriges Radio’s international conducting competition, the Eric Ericson Award, makes it all the more exciting,” says Cilla Benkö, CEO of Sveriges Radio.
About Krista Audere
Krista Audere is a conductor from Latvia based in the Netherlands. She leads the VU-Kamerkoor and Kamerkoor Venus and regularly guest-conducts several leading European choirs. She was awarded first prize in one of the world’s foremost competitions for young choral conductors, the 2021 Eric Ericson Award, organised by Swedish Radio and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. Ahead of the 2025/2026 season, she was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir and will become its Chief conductor from autumn 2027. In 2028, she will also take up the post of Artistic director and Chief conductor of the Dutch ensemble Cappella Amsterdam.
About the Swedish Radio Choir
Since its creation in 1925, the Swedish Radio Choir, as part of Sveriges Radio, has played a central role in Swedish and international musical life through concerts, radio productions, recordings, tours, world premieres and collaborations with leading conductors and orchestras. Through collaborations with and commissions from contemporary composers, it has continually pioneered new repertoire, with a choral sound that has set the standard for professional choirs around the world. Krista Audere takes over from Kaspars Putnins, who was Chief Conductor from 2020 to 2026. Among those who have previously held the role for the longest periods are Eric Ericson (1952–82) and Peter Dijkstra (2007–2018).
Press images of Krista Audere ->
For further information
Karl Thorson, Press Manager
karl.thorson@sr.se
+46704311893
Namn: Krista Audere, new Chief conductor of Swedish Radio Choir
Bildtext: Krista Audere, new Chief conductor of Swedish Radio Choir
Foto: Mattias Ahlm/Sveriges Radio
Krista Audere, new Chief conductor of Swedish Radio Choir