Michael Sanderling has been chief conductor of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester since 2021. His appointment followed a successful collaboration over many years,with a common goal of further developing the orchestra in late Romantic repertoire such as Bruckner, Mahler and Strauss.Since the start of his tenure as chief conductor, several highly-acclaimed CDs have been released. These include a Brahms cycle released in 2023 by Warner Classics, with the four symphonies as well as his Fifth - apiano quartet orchestrated by Arnold Schoenberg - and a recording of the Schumann and Grieg Piano concertos with Elisabeth Leonskaja.

Under Michael Sanderling's direction, the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester has toured Asia, South America and Germany. Their performance of Shostakovich's 10th symphony at the Wiener Konzerthaus, accompanied by William Kentridge's animated film 'Oh to Believe in Another World', attracted particular attention. This work had previously been premiered at the KKL Luzern and the Pompeii Theatrum Mundi festival.

As a guest conductor, Michael Sanderling directs leading orchestras around the world. These include the Berlin Philharmonic, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, the Wiener Symphoniker, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Michael Sanderling is a passionate supporter of young musicians. He teaches at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst à Francfort, and also works regularly with the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra. From 2003 to 2013 he was chief conductor of youth orchestrathe Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie.