Knut Skansen is the new Managing Director of the Oslo Philharmonic

Skansen has a degree in literature from the University of Oslo. He has spent the last 14 years working with the development of the Deichman Library in the Oslo municipality and the previous five years as director. From there, he brings experiences which are valuable for the Oslo Philharmonic, particularly from the construction of the new library in Bjørvika.

– Knut Skansen is a strategic, wise and empathic leader who thinks visionary about the institutions he leads. What he has achieved with Deichman, Norway's largest cultural institution, shows his ability to carry out significant change and create something new. His experience with making the physical and organizational frameworks for a new culture house will be ultimately decisive in succeeding with a new concert hall, says Oslo Philharmonic's chairman, Kristin Skogen Lund.

In recent years, the Oslo Philharmonic has consolidated its strong position as a leading actor on the international orchestral stage, and its ambitions are high. Extending these ambitions and realizing a new concert hall at Filipstad in Oslo represents significant and crucial tasks for the new director.

– The combination of the orchestra's unique position, the ambitions in realizing a new concert hall, and with it the opportunity for organizational development and development of the orchestra's role in society constitutes a rare momentum where a lot can be achieved. I am very much looking forward to starting this work, says Skansen.

Skansen starts as Managing Director of the Oslo Philharmonic on 1 January 2024. He succeeds Ingrid Røynesdal, who started in her new role as director of the National Museum on 1 October. Head of Organization at the Oslo Philharmonic, Camilla Klaven, is Acting Managing Director until Skansen takes over.