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Camelopardalis was written for the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and premiered in January 2011 during the summer music festival in Cape Town, South Africa. Shortly before I planned to start this commission, I had a very strange and fantastic dream. I dreamed that I had a giraffe. We became the best of friends, the giraffe and I! I jumped on it, and we jumped out of a window and rode away! We rode through forests, over meadows and mountains! On the horizon we saw a big red sun rising (instead of setting) and a flock of colorful birds flying by. When I woke up, I felt so indescribably happy! Since I was just about to start writing the orchestral piece for the Cape Philharmonic, it only felt so natural to let the piece be inspired by the dream. Camelopardalis is the Latin name for the constellation of the giraffe. In the middle of the piece, you can also hear the giraffe's own theme, presented by the bassoon... Andrea Tarrodi

The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. Since the 2019-2020 season, Barbara Hannigan is Principal guest conductor. We are also a proud partner of Barbara Hannigan's Equilibrium mentoring program focusing on young singers at the start of their careers. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025. Wilhelm Stenhammar was the orchestra's chief conductor from 1907 to 1922. He gave the orchestra a strong Nordic profile and invited colleagues Carl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius to the orchestra. Under the direction of conductor Neeme Järvi from 1982-2004, the orchestra made a series of international tours as well as a hundred disc recordings and established themselves among Europe's leading orchestras. In 1996, the Swedish Riksdag appointed the Gothenburg Symphony as Sweden's National Orchestra. In recent decades, the orchestra has had prominent chief conductors such as Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Mario Venzago and Gustavo Dudamel, following Kent Nagano as Principal Guest conductor. Anna-Karin Larsson is CEO and artistic director, Gustavo Dudamel honorary conductor and Neeme Järvi chief conductor emeritus. The orchestra's owner is the Västra Götaland Region. The Gothenburg Symphony works regularly with conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Joana Carneiro, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Christian Zacharias and Anja Bihlmaier.

Anna-Maria Helsing was appointed Chief Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra in 2023, where she had previously been Principal Guest Conductor. Since January 2025, she has also been Chief Conductor of the Vaasa City Orchestra. From 2010 to 2013, Anna-Maria Helsing was Chief Conductor of the Oulu Symphony Orchestra. She is currently Artistic Director of the Rusk Chamber Music Festival in Jakobstad. In the 2025-2026 season, Helsing returns to the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm to conduct Britta Byström's newly written Sami opera Jordens hjärta (Heart of the Earth). She will also make a return visit to Brno, Czech Republic with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Moravian Autumn Festival. She will make her debut with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in Canada, with the Philharmonic of Southern Denmark and with the Wiesbaden State Orchestra in Germany. She returns to the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the City Orchestras of Kuopio and Joensuu.

Marcus Bäckerud, violin, was born in 1997 in Torna Hällestad outside Lund. He was the 2024 winner of the newly established Anders Walls Music Prize. He plays in the Monbijou Quartet and has studied at the Academy of Music in Copenhagen with violinist Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider.

Lorenz Karls, a violinist born in 2001 in Vienna, studies in Salzburg and has performed with a number of European orchestras such as the Bergen Philharmonic and the Camerata Bern. In 2022 he won the youth class of the Zhuhai International Mozart Competition. He also gives solo concerts at a number of festivals.

Christoffer Breman, born in 2000 in Stockholm, is a percussionist, studying at the Copenhagen Academy of Music and performing with a number of different orchestras and newly written works. He is also a member of the percussion ensemble Ode to Noise.

Stefan Forsberg studied trumpet at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and after graduating he was employed as solo trumpeter in the Stockholm County Brass Orchestra, where he played for eleven years before being appointed County Music Director in Stockholm. Later, Stefan Forsberg became better known as the concert hall director of Konserthuset Stockholm, a position he held for 20 years. In 2025, he took office as chairman of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. Since the 2019-2020 season, Barbara Hannigan is Principal guest conductor. We are also a proud partner of Barbara Hannigan's Equilibrium mentoring program focusing on young singers at the start of their careers. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025. Wilhelm Stenhammar was the orchestra's chief conductor from 1907 to 1922. He gave the orchestra a strong Nordic profile and invited colleagues Carl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius to the orchestra. Under the direction of conductor Neeme Järvi from 1982-2004, the orchestra made a series of international tours as well as a hundred disc recordings and established themselves among Europe's leading orchestras. In 1996, the Swedish Riksdag appointed the Gothenburg Symphony as Sweden's National Orchestra. In recent decades, the orchestra has had prominent chief conductors such as Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Mario Venzago and Gustavo Dudamel, following Kent Nagano as Principal Guest conductor. Anna-Karin Larsson is CEO and artistic director, Gustavo Dudamel honorary conductor and Neeme Järvi chief conductor emeritus. The orchestra's owner is the Västra Götaland Region. The Gothenburg Symphony works regularly with conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Joana Carneiro, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Christian Zacharias and Anja Bihlmaier.