Founded in 1961, and celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2021, Sapporo Symphony Orchestra is the only professional orchestra in Hokkaido, affectionately known as "Sakkyo."  
The orchestra represents the vast land of Hokkaido with a clear sound and a dynamic and powerful expression. The orchestra gives approximately 120 regular concerts per year, and approximately 50 smaller concerts for educational and social benefit purposes.The orchestra has made oversea tours, visiting the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Korea, Taiwan and other South-East Asian countries.
To date, Masao Araya, Honorary Founding Conductor and Peter Schwarz, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Tadaaki Otaka, Max Pommer and Radomil Eliška took active roles with the orchestra. Currently, Matthias Bamert is the Chief Conductor, and the orchestra invites Honorary Music Director, Tadaaki Otaka; Friendship Conductor, Junichi Hirokami; and Kentaro Kawase as Resident Conductor.