The Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia) is an Italian symphony orchestra based in Rome. Resident at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, the orchestra primarily performs its Rome concerts in the Auditorium’s Salla Santa Cecilia.

The orchestra was officialy founded in 1908, as the first Italian orchestra to devote itself exclusively to symphonic repertoire. Bernardino Molinari was the orchestra’s first music director, serving from 1912 to 1944. Subsequent music directors included Franco Ferrara (1944-1945), Fernando Previtali (1953-1973), and Igor Markevitch (1973-1975).

The orchestra was noted for its recordings of Italian opera for the Decca label with such conductors as Tullio Serafin. Thomas Schippers had been named the next music director to succeed Markevitch, but Schippers died in December 1977, before he could formally assume the post. The music directorship of the orchestra remained vacant until 1983, with the advent of Giuseppe Sinopoli as music director. Sinopoli assisted in restoring the fortunes of the orchestra, and expanded the orchestra’s repertoire to include Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) and Anton Bruckner (1824-1896). Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) was the honorary president of the orchestra from 1983 until 1990.

Conductors

• Bernardino Molinari (1912-1944).
• Franco Ferrara (1944-1945).
• Fernando Previtali (1953-1973).
• Igor Markevitch (1973-1975).
• Giuseppe Sinopoli (1983-1987).
• Uto Ughi (1987-1992).
• Daniele Gatti (1961) (1992-1997).
• Myung-Whun Chung (1997-2005).
• Antonio Pappano (2005-present).

Sir Antonio Pappano has been Music Director of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia since 1 October 2005; he had already become Music Director of London’s Covent Garden in September 2002. In the past, he has filled other prestigious positions: in 1990 he was named Music Director of the Den Norske Opera of Oslo, the theatre where he made his international debut, and from 1991 to 2002 he carried out the same role at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels.

Honorary Conductor

• Yuri Temirkanov.

Honorary President

• Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)  (1983-1990).