札幌交響楽団, also known as the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, is the sole professional orchestra in Hokkaido, Japan. Founded on July 1, 1961, as the Sapporo Citizen's Symphony Orchestra, the ensemble was renamed in 1962. Early concerts took place at the Sapporo Citizen's Hall. The orchestra performed internationally, with tours of the United States and West Germany in 1975, Southeast Asia in 1992 and 1994, the United Kingdom in 2001, South Korea in 2005, and Taiwan in 2015. Regular annual performances in Tokyo and Osaka began in 1989. To mark its 50th anniversary in 2011, the orchestra completed a European tour of Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Authorized as a public interest foundation in October 2009, its home venue is the Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara. Conductors such as Masao Araya, Peter Schwarz, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Tadaaki Otaka, Ken Takaseki, and guest Radomil Eliška have directed the ensemble, and Elias Grandi was appointed chief conductor starting in April 2025. The orchestra's schedule includes approximately 120 concerts annually, and its discography includes a complete Beethoven symphony cycle released in 2012 and a complete Sibelius symphony cycle released in 2021.
