Founded in 1935 as the Orchestra della Radio Svizzera Italiana, the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana (OSI) has just celebrated its 90th anniversary, to enthusiastic acclaim from audiences and critics alike in major theaters and concert halls across Europe, from the Golden Hall of Vienna’s Musikverein (where it returned for the third time on March 2, 2026) to the Berlin Philharmonie, from the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg to the Kölner Philharmonie in Cologne, from the Opernhaus in Frankfurt to the Prinzregententheater in Munich.  
Since 2022, Krzysztof Urbański has served as Principal Guest Conductor of the OSI, succeeding Vladimir Ashkenazy in this role, while Markus Poschner served as Principal Conductor from 2015 through June 2025.  
As the resident orchestra at the LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura (Ticino, Switzerland), the OSI headlines three main seasons in Lugano: “OSI at the LAC,” from fall through spring in the LAC’s Sala Teatro; “OSI in Auditorio” at the orchestra’s historic home, the Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in Lugano Besso (temporarily replaced by the “OSI at the Docks” season), and “OSI at Pentecost,” introduced for the first time in June 2025 in conjunction with the Presenza festival, with the aim of establishing a regular event featuring the OSI during a particularly interesting weekend, not least due to the presence of a potential international audience.  
Complementing all this is the innovative “be connected ,” featuring special events and concerts throughout Italian-speaking Switzerland to pique the curiosity of new audiences, with the goal of breaking down prejudices against classical music and promoting the orchestra’s identity wherever possible, in the spirit of experimentation, interdisciplinarity, and engagement with all age groups.  
The rich concert program features the Orchestra collaborating with numerous internationally renowned conductors and soloists, both in Italian-speaking Switzerland and beyond the region’s borders: among them are Martha Argerich, with whom the OSI has enjoyed a special relationship for over twenty years; conductor Charles Dutoit, with whom a closer collaboration is planned for the 2025–26 season, and cellist Sol Gabetta, with whom a steady collaboration has developed, leading to the creation of the Presenza festival at the LAC, which will return to Lugano in 2027 (every three years).
Concert activities are also continually expanding in Bellinzona and throughout the rest of Italian-speaking Switzerland, where the orchestra regularly performs at various annual events, particularly in the context of cultural outreach. 
Equally intense is the orchestra’s recording activity, in collaboration with the Italian-language Swiss Radio and Television (RSI): following a first, prestigious ICMA international award in 2018 for the complete Brahms symphonies on DVD (SONY Classical), the OSI and Poschner won a second ICMA award in January 2025 for a CD dedicated to works by Paul Hindemith and Alfred Schnittke (ECM New Series label). The OSI’s original and intriguing discography also includes a series of CDs dedicated to Rossini’s unpublished works, Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6, as well as a newly released LP featuring Tchaikovsky’s *Manfred *. 
Also noteworthy are the opera and ballet co-productions with the LAC and various international partners. Finally, the OSI’s commitment to young people is extraordinary: approximately 10,000 children attend the concert-performances designed for them each May. In the musical education of young people, the OSI maintains a close collaboration on multiple levels with the University School of Music at the Conservatory of Italian Switzerland.
Open-air concerts, film-concert events, and summer festivals—including the Locarno Film Festival—round out the program, engaging an ever-growing audience.   

The OSI thanks all its funders and sponsors, in particular the Republic and Canton of Ticino — the Swisslos Fund, the City of Lugano, the municipalities of the ERSL, the Association of Friends of the OSI (AOSI), the main sponsor BancaStato, and the Canton of Graubünden. 
The OSI is the resident orchestra at the LAC. The OSI is also grateful to its main partner, RSI, for its ongoing support and regular radio broadcasts.
Information: www.osi.swiss 

Kamal Khan, an Indian-American conductor, pianist, and voice teacher, is the co-founder and artistic director of Opera for Peace. Alongside his career as a musician, he devotes himself with passion and dedication to opera education. He has performed in the world’s most prestigious theaters and has collaborated with major orchestras and internationally renowned singers. A much-loved teacher, he is active in many important programs for young artists, universities, music schools, and international vocal competitions. "I Live to Sing," an EMMY-winning documentary, highlights his work at the University of Cape Town.