Stockholm Strauss Orchestra was founded in 1992 as an offshoot of the Swedish Strauss Society, which was established in 1960. The driving force behind it was Berth Vestergård, also one of the founders of the Strauss Society. The orchestra is modelled after – and has the same instrumental setup as – the Capelle Strauss orchestra, which performed under the leadership of members of the Strauss family between 1827 and 1901. It also follows the same dress code, with red tailcoats and white trousers, as the musicians of Capelle Strauss wore at the court balls in Vienna.

Mika Eichenholz is former Chief conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica Universidad de Concepción in Chile. He is extensively involved with orchestras in various parts of the world and has guest conducted, the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hamburger Symphoniker, amongst others. In Sweden, in addition to the Strauss Orchestra, Eichenholz is often seen as a guest conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, most recently in the concert for the opening of the Parliamentary session, the Dagens Nyheter open-air Gärdet concert and the Epiphany Concert at the Stockholm Concert Hall in 2024. He has conducted at Gothenburg Opera, Wermland Opera, Malmö Opera and Folk Opera in Stockholm and has made a large number of cd recordings for EMI and Naxos to name but a few.

Marianne Eklöf, of the great singers of our time, mezzo-soprano who worked internationally for many years. She has also been active at Malmö Opera and was part of the permanent ensemble at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm for 25 years. There, she has performed roles as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Carmen, Eboli in Don Carlos, Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde, Ortrud in Lohengrin, and most notably, Klytaimnestra in Elektra. Eklöf is also active as a director and has been the chairman of the Stockholm Strauss Orchestra since 2019.

Margareta Nilsson is the Strauss Orchestra’s harpist. She has also performed with most symphony and opera orchestras in Sweden. Margareta has participated in concerts with many artists in various genres, for example, Monsterrat Cabellé, Luciano Pavarotti, Helene Sjöholm, Peter Jöback, Marie Fredriksson, Robert Wells and others. She has performed in classical concerts as well as musicals and pop. Margareta is a much sought-after teacher and teaches at Lilla Akademien in Stockholm and Uppsala Kulturskola, where she has 15 harp students!

Judith Simon is trained at the Royal Swedish Ballet School and directly after completing her training was employed by the Royal Opera in Stockholm. Early in her career Judith performed solo roles and competed in international ballet competitions. This led to her being appointed soloist and premiere dancer. Judith’s strong technique and sparkling personality gave her many leading roles and soloist assignments during her career at the Royal Opera as well as international tours to, for example, Japan, the USA, Brazil, England, Italy and the Czech Republic. She is now active as a choreographer and teacher at The Royal Swedish Ballet School.