The orchestra’s roots date back to 1790, when The Turku Musical Society of Turku was founded. Turku Philharmonic was taken over by its host City in 1927. At the time the orchestra had 29 musicians. Today the orchestra has 74 members.

The Turku Philharmonic Orchestra’s Chief Conductor is John Storgårds, with Danish conductor Christian Kluxen as Principal Guest Conductor.

The orchestra has toured Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Belgium, Russia, Germany, Hungary and China. The orchestra has been actively recording and many of its recordings have broken the platinum record sales barrier. The orchestra’s recordings have won awards such as the Emma Award and the ICMA Award.

In autumn 2026 a new period in the history of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra will begin when the orchestra moves to the new Music Hall Fuuga in Turku. In addition to its weekly symphony concerts, the orchestra regularly performs chamber music concerts at Turku’s historic concert venues. The orchestra also participates in opera productions, organises concerts and events for the whole family and does a lot of outreach work.