Orkester Norden is a summer symphony orchestra consisting of 70-100 music students from the conservatories in the Nordic and Baltic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuenia). The orchestra was founded in 1993 with Esa-Pekka Salonen as artistic director and was administered by Concerts Sweden for the first 15 years. In 2008 Orkester Norden moved its base to Kristiansand in Norway under the artistic directorship of Rolf Gupta. The orchestra arranges auditions each January and is active for 3 weeks each summer. Applicants come from all over the region, many of them returning for several courses – but at 25 the age limit pushes them out – and fresh faces join. Orkester Norden has been touring extensively in the Nordic countries as well as in Europe and China, and has been led by a number of the most prominent nordic conductors.