Thomas Dausgaard (Danish: [ˈtsʰʌmæs ˈtɑwˀsˌkɒˀ]; born 4 July 1963 in Copenhagen) is a Danish conductor. He "studied conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen and with Norman Del Mar at the Royal College of Music in London. He has taken part in masterclasses with Franco Ferrara, Leonard Bernstein and Hiroyuki Iwaki, and in 1991 he won a conducting fellowship to attend the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute."
In Scandinavia, Dausgaard has been principal conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra since 1997. From 2001 to 2004, he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra (DNSO), and became principal conductor in 2004, the first Danish conductor to hold the post. He concluded his principal conductorship of the DNSO at the close of the 2010–2011 season, and subsequently became the orchestra's æresdirigent (honorary conductor). In May 2017, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra announced that Dausgaard is to conclude his tenure as principal conductor after the 2018–2019 season, and subsequently to take the title of conductor laureate with the orchestra.
Outside of Scandinavia, Dausgaard first guest-conducted the Seattle Symphony in March 2013. In October 2013, the Seattle Symphony named Dausgaard its next principal guest conductor, effective with the 2014–2015 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. In March 2016, the Seattle Symphony announced the extension of Dausgaard's contract as principal guest through the 2019–2020 season. In October 2017, the Seattle Symphony announced the appointment of Dausgaard as its next music director, effective with the 2019–2020 season, with an initial contract of 4 seasons.
In March 2015, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) announced the appointment of Dausgaard as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season. In January 2018, the BBC SSO announced the extension of Dausgaard's contract as chief conductor through the 2021–2022 season.
Dausgaard has been a regular conductor of the music of Per Nørgård, and is the dedicatee of Nørgård's composition Terrains Vagues. For the Chandos and DaCapo labels, Dausgaard has conducted several recordings of Danish and other Scandinavian music, including works by Per Nørgård, Johan Svendsen, Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, Rued Langgaard, Dag Wirén, Franz Berwald, August Enna and Asger Hamerik, as well as Denmark's most famous composer, Carl Nielsen. He has also embarked on a series of recordings for SIMAX of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, as well as two CDs for BIS of the symphonies of Robert Schumann.
Dausgaard has three sons, and lives in Denmark with his partner, Alissa Rossius.