One Thousand and One Nights: Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra’s 95th anniversary culminates in a festive concert
TPO's 95th anniversary year reaches its grand finale on Friday, 28 November at 7 pm. Chief Conductor Matthew Halls leads a magical concert where Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade meets Jasdeep Singh Degun’s sitar concerto Arya and Debussy’s sensual Afternoon of a Faun. After the concert, the celebration continue in the Tampere Hall with an afterparty.
Before the concert: book launch and pre-concert talk
The evening on 28 November begins at 5:30 pm in Tampere Hall, venue Maestro, where author Maritta Hirvonen will present her newly published book Ajan kuohuista yhteinen sävel – Tampere Filharmonia 1930–2025 (Stresa Kustannus, 2025).
At 6 pm, the orchestra’s General Manager Eija Oravuo will host a pre-concert talk session, featuring a conversation about the programme with Chief Conductor Matthew Halls and soloist Jasdeep Singh Degun.
Book launch is held in Finnish and pre-concert talk is held in English and in Finnish. Both events are free of charge.
Programme for TPO’s anniversary concert: One Thousand and One Nights
On Friday, 28 November 2025 at 7 pm in Tampere Hall, Main Auditorium
Claude Debussy: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Afternoon of a Faun)
Jasdeep Singh Degun: Arya, Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra, Finnish premiere
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade (1888) remains one of the great masterpieces of orchestral colour, drawing listeners into the mythical world of the Arabian Nights. Just six years later, Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Afternoon of a Faun) heralded a new era in music with its shimmering, dreamlike textures.
Award-winning British composer and sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun bridges his North Indian heritage with contemporary Western music. His concerto Arya explores themes of isolation and belonging: a lone hero confronts a like-minded collective in a passionate clash, ultimately finding profound unity.
Tickets for the anniversary concert and other Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra’s events are available from Tampere Hall ticket office, Culture Shop Aplodi, and Lippu.fi sales channels.
After the concert, the festivities continue in the second-floor foyer at the Tampere Hall with live music and refreshments until 11 pm. Admission to afterparty is free.
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra – 95 years of music
Throughout 2025, Tampere Philharmonic has marked its 95th birthday in its favourite way: making music for its audience. The spring season featured beloved classics alongside premieres, rock, and even video game music. Highlights included Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem and the world premiere of Tampere-based composer Minna Leinonen’s work Kuinkas sitten kävikään?, created in collaboration with the Moomin Museum, and as part of the Moomin 80th Anniversary celebrations. In May, the orchestra released a new recording after a long hiatus. The album SOUTH BY NORTHEAST features world-premiere recordings of works by its late composer-in-residence Jouni Kaipainen.
The jubilee year autumn season opened spectacularly with the traditional Park Concert, drawing over 10,000 music lovers to Sorsapuisto. Later, the symphonic world premiere of Nightwish’s new album Yesterwynde filled Tampere Hall for three sold-out nights This autumn’s concerts have explored love in its many forms, the programme has varied from J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio to brand-new works and premieres. The featured composer for the 2025/26 season is a Finnish composer Sebastian Fagerlund.
Beyond the concert hall, the orchestra has surprised audiences in creative ways: a specially decorated 95th anniversary bus brightened the Tampere city streets last winter, early autumn TPO invited 95 music lovers to autumn concerts; free tickets were spread across the city’s cultural venues to be found. The orchestra also unveiled a new logo and visual identity, designed by Antti Porkka (Porkka ID), symbolising its role as “the orchestra of the rapids city” and as an international cultural ambassador. A new signature clothing line, launched in collaboration with local art-fashion brand Pispala Clothing, was among the year’s most eye-catching highlights.
The Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra’s 95th anniversary concert takes place on Friday, 28 November 2025 at 7 pm in Tampere Hall’s Main Auditorium. TPO is under the baton of Chief Conductor Matthew Halls.
Discover more about the orchestra and its story at tamperefilharmonia.fi/en.
