Petri Sakari was born in Helsinki and began to play the violin when he was eight. The following year he entered the Tampere Conservatory where he also studied the piano and oboe. He started to learn conducting in 1974 and shortly afterwards went on to study with Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki , from which he received his conducting diploma in 1981 as well as a diploma in violin. He attended conducting master-classes with Murry Sidlin at Aspen , with Franco Ferrara in Siena , and with Rafael Kubelík in Lucerne , soon putting conducting theory into practice by conducting the Tampere Conservatory Symphony Orchestra and opera productions at the Sibelius Academy . 

From 1983 onwards Petri Sakari began to undertake professional engagements with various Finnish symphony orchestras, beginning with the Vaasa City Orchestra; this was followed by regular engagements with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra.

Following successful appearances outside Finland , Sakari was appointed chief conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra from 1988 to 1993 and continued as the orchestra’s principal guest conductor from 1993 to 1996 before once again occupying the post of chief conductor from 1996 to 1998. Other positions that he has held include those of chief conductor of the Lohja Symphony Orchestra since 1993, principal guest conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra between 1995 and 1997, and Music Director of the Gävle Symphony Orchestra since 2000.

As a guest he has conducted orchestras throughout the Scandinavian countries and in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England, Ungarn, Romania, Sao Paolo, Bilbao, Singapore and Mexico City, working with such orchestras as the Singapore Symphony, BBC Wales, RSO Wien, Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, to name but a few. He has also conducted an important number of opera and ballet performances at the Finnish National Opera, in Sweden ( Stockholm Royal Opera, Gothenburg Opera, Malmö Opera) and at the Icelandic Opera.

Petri Sakari’s recordings with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra for various labels, notably Naxos and Chandos, have been uniformly well received, especially their recordings of the complete Sibelius symphonies and those of Sakari’s compatriot, Leevi Madetoja.