Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra is a leading orchestra based in Osaka, a central city of the Kansai region, western Japan. It is acclaimed as much for its musical excellence as for its longstanding commitment to cultural enrichment and community programmes.
The orchestraʼs General Director and Principal Conductor is FUJIOKA Sachio. Principal Guest Conductor is SUZUKI Masato, Artistic Partner is Lio KUOKMAN, Honorary Conductor is Augustin DUMAY, Permanent Honorary Conductor Laureate is IIMORI Taijiro （deceased）, and Friend of Sachio is YAMADA Kazuki from April 2025.
FUJIOKA studied conducting in Manchester, England, and worked with the BBC Philharmonic, which contributed to his prolific expertise in English repertoires by composers such as Elgar and Vaughan Williams, as well as Sibelius. In 2021 FUJIOKA and Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra released an album of the complete Sibelius symphonies. Their profound and dramatic recording has been highly acclaimed. He is especially dedicated to creating programs that reaches out to a diverse audience to cultivate their interests in the orchestra.
In 2015 and 2023, the orchestra successfully completed its first and second European Tours, performing in eight cities in five countries, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Belgium and France under the direction of Augustin DUMAY. In 2021, the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra and IIMORI Taijiro was awarded the Music Critic Club Award for their “Richard Wagner Special Concert.” Currently the orchestra appears in BS TV Tokyoʼs broadcast program “Enter the Music” with FUJIOKA Sachio. FUJIOKA’s skillful narrative on various themes related to music combined with Kansai Philharmonicʼs performance has reached out to build a wide fanbase all across Japan.
2020 marked the 50th Anniversary of the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra has grown along with the community and businesses in their homebase Osaka and the Kansai region, by actively engaging in providing programs to make classical music available to a greater audience. The orchestra sustains their reputation as a unique ensemble through these activities that allows them to pursue their vision and to take on new challenges.
